LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


REV.   A.   H.  McKINNEY,  Ph.D. 


Pastor  and  Teacher  Training 

The  Sunday  School  Board  Seminary 
Led  u  res 

COURSE    NO.    4 


D«Iiv»re4  at  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seininary 
Louifville,  Ky.,  December  5-9,  J  904 


REV.  A.  H.  McKINNEY,  Ph.D. 

AUTHOR  OF 

"  After  the  Primary.  What  ? ''     "  The  Child  for  Christ,' 
"  Bible  School  Pedagogy,"  etc. 


j^xx^rLA^^ 

Of  tup     ^^  ^ 

'^  I\ice,  50  ceyitSf  postpaid 

UNIVERSITY  1 


or 


!£>^L\f 


Sunday  Scnooi.  Board 
SouTHEiix  Baptist  Convention 

NA8HVILI.1C,  TeNNESSEB 


-3  V^:5Uo 

M  3 


THE  SEMINARY  LECTURES 

Delivered  at  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  Louis- 
ville, Ky.    Published  end  for  sale  by  the  Sunday 
School  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

Four  Books.     l2mo.     Cloth.     Each,  Postpaid,  50  Cents 

PASTOR  AND  SUNDAY  SCHOOL.  W.  E.  Hatcher,  D.D.  Illus- 
trated,   pp.  180. 

PASTORAL  LEADERSHIP  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  FORCES.  A.  F. 
Schaitffler,  D.D.    pp.  176. 

THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  SUNDAY  SCHOOL.  S.  H.  Greene. 
D.D.,LL.D.    pp.151. 

THE  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING.  Rev.  A.  H.  McKin 
ney,  Ph.D.    pp.  191. 

Uniform  in  Size  and  Binding 

BAPTIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  BOARD 
Nashville,  Tennessee 


COPTRIGHT   BY    THE   SUNDAY   SCHOOIi  BOARD 

or  THB  Southern  Baptist  Convention,  1906 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Foreword 5 

Lectures— 

I.  The  Pastor  as  Inspirer  of  His  Bible 

School  Teachers 11 

II.  The  Pastor   Leading-  His  Teachers 

in  Bible  Study 43 

III.  The  Pastor  Leading:  His  Teachers 

in  the  Study  of  Their  Pupils 77 

IV.  The  Pastor  Leading  His  Teachers 

in  the  Study  of  Religious  Peda- 
gogy      121 

V.  The  Pastor  Training  His  Teachers .  151 

(1)  From  the  Pulpit 157 

(2)  In  the  Teachers'  Meeting 161 

(3)  In  Their  Homes 168 

(4)  From  His  Study 176 

Portrait  of  the  Author Frontispiece. 

Appendix — 

(1)  An  Institute  Program 189 


Issued  Under  the 
CONSTANCE  POLLOCK 
PUBLISHING  FUND 
Given  March  8, 1902,  by 
P.  D.  POLLOCK,  LL.D. 
President  op  Mercer 
University,  Macon,  G  a. 

BOOK  NUMBER  FOUR 


FOREWORD. 

TO  L15ADERS  IN  BIBLE    SCHOOL  WORK. 

The  situation  of  the  Bible  school  as  an 
institution  may  be  summed  up  in  one  word, 
Opportunity.  For  years,  by  both  its 
friends  and  foes,  there  have  been  offered 
criticisms  of  Bible-school  methods.  Within 
the  ranks  of  the  very  best  Bible-school 
workers  there  are  unquietness  and  dissatis- 
faction. It  is  recognized  that  present  meth- 
ods in  many  cases  are  behind  those  in  other 
departments  of  effort.  There  are  Teach- 
ings out  after  better  things.  Demands  are 
made  in  various  directions.  There  are  those 
who  declare  that  the  solution  of  the  many 
perplexing  problems  connected  with  Bible- 
school  work  is  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
control  our  theological  seminaries.  The 
pressure  already  brought  to  bear  has  re- 
sulted, in  some  cases,  in  the  appointing  of 
regular  lecturers  or  professors  to  give  sys- 
tematic instruction  in  those  things  which 
will  tend  to  make  the  pastor  a  more  skillful 
(5) 


6  FOREWORD. 

leader  of  his  Bible-school  forces.  In  other 
places,  where  the  money  has  been  forthcom- 
ing to  endow  regular  lectureships,  courses 
have  been  estabHshed,  and  from  year  to 
year  outside  specialists  have  been  called 
in  to  inspire  and  instruct  the  young  theo- 
logians in  things  pertaining  to  the  pastoral 
leadership  of  Bible-school  forces. 

This  volume  is  the  outcome  of  one  such 
effort.  The  lectures  which  comprise  it  form 
the  fourth  series  of  those  given  at  the 
Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  at 
I^ouisville,  Ky.,  through  the  generosity  of 
the  Sunday  School  Board  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  Convention.  They  were  eagerly  re- 
ceived, not  only  by  the  great  student  body 
of  that  institution,  but  also  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty,  local  clergymen  and 
Bible-school  workers  and  visitors  from  other 
states.  A  more  appreciative  audience  could 
not  be  found.  What  was  said  was  not  only 
listened  to  intelligently  and  judicially,  but 
was  grasped  by  those  for  whom  it  was  in- 
tended, as  was  evidenced  by  the  many 
questions  put  to  the  lecturer  from  time  to 
time  during  the  progress  of  the  course. 
To  the  commendation  uttered  bv  those  who 


FOREWORD.  7 

heard  the  lectures  were  added  those  other 
most  encouraging  words  which  expressed 
the  determination  of  many  pastors  and 
students  to  take  up  and  continue  the  various 
lines  of  study  and  investigation  proposed 
by  the  lecturer.  In  the  ratio  that  this  is 
done  will  the  Bible  schools  of  to-morrow 
be  benefited. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  What  are 
the  leaders  in  Bible -school  w^ork  in  duty 
bound  to  do  with  such  facts  as  these  staring 
them  in  the  face?  A  course  of  lectures 
each  year  at  the  Theological  Seminary  is 
very  helpful,  but  is  it  enough?  Should 
not  provision  be  made  for  more  lectures 
than  those  which  can  be  comprised  in  any 
course  like  the  three  given  in  former  years, 
the  one  just  delivered,  or  the  one  that  will 
probably  be  given  next  year,  however  ex- 
cellent it  may  be?  Let  it  be  repeated,  Op- 
portunity Is  Here.  Are  our  leaders  alive 
to  the  fact?  Will  they  rise  to  an  adequate 
conception  of  their  privilege?  Will  they 
live  up  to  their  privilege?  That  the  schools 
need  to  be  put  on  a  higher  plane,  that  the 
pastor  is  the  natural  leader  in  the  work  of 
elevation,  that  the  theoloo^cal  students  are 


8  FOREWORD. 

ready  to  receive  and  put  into  operation  the 
proper  kind  of  instruction,  are  facts  that 
cannot  be  controverted.  One  other  factor, 
then,  remains  to  be  considered,  namely, 
those  who  have  the  leadership  in  our  Bible - 
school  work.  May  they  not  only  appreci- 
ate their  privilege,  but  embrace  it  to  the  full ! 
It  is  a  common  saying  in  these  days  that 
investors  desire  to  put  their  money  into 
those  things  from  which  they  will  derive 
the  largest  dividends.  In  the  matter  of 
gifts,  especially  for  educational  purposes, 
this  thought  is  carried  out  by  many.  This 
is  as  it  should  be.  Philanthropists  should 
not  be  asked  to  give  money  to  those  ob- 
jects wherein  there  is  little  hope  of  return. 
There  are  many  who  are  not  demanding 
returns  in  material  things,  but  in  intellec- 
tual, ethical  and  spiritual  results.  Into  no 
field  could  money  be  put  with  more  cer- 
tainty of  not  only  great  but  speedy  returns 
than  into  this  department  of  Bible-school 
effort.  The  money  invested  to  educate  our 
ministers  in  the  most  advanced  methods 
of  Bible-school  work  will  bear  rich  and 
speedy  fruitage,  first  of  all  in  their  own 
lives,    then   through   them  in   the   lives   of 


FOREWORD.  9 

the  Bible-school  workers  that  they  will  be 
privileged  to  inspire  and  instruct  in  the 
things  in  which  they  themselves  have  re- 
ceived inspiration  and  instruction,  and 
finally  in  the  great  masses  of  Bible-school 
pupils  who  will  be  reached  through  the 
intelligent  efforts  of  the  teachers  who  have 
been  lifted  to  higher  planes  of  thought  and 
endeavor.  W^at  the  result  will  be  in  the 
church  of  to-morrow  and  in  the  kingdom 
at  large  is  beyond  computation.  Here, 
then,  is  the  opportunity  for  the  leaders  of 
our  Bible-school  work  to  become  intelli- 
gently informed  themselves,  and  to  secure 
the  cooperation  of  those  who  have  the 
money  to  give  for  the  furtherance  of  this 
great  movement  for  the  betterment  of  the 
Bible  schools  of  our  land.  Moreover,  as 
America  sets  the  pace  in  this  matter,  the 
benefit  will  be  world-wide. 


The  Pastor  and  Teacher  Training. 


LECTURE  L 

THE     PASTOR     AS     INSPIRER    OF     HIS     BIBLE 
SCHOOL   TEACHERS. 

Fellow  Students: 

It  is  with  feelings  of  profound  gratitude 
that  I  look  into  your  faces  at  this  time. 
It  is  always  to  me  a  great  pleasure  to  have 
the  privilege  of  studying  with  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Bible  school ; 
to  meet  those  who  are  to  be  the  leaders  in 
that  work;  and  to  consider  with  them 
some  of  the  problems  connected  therewith 
is  an  especial  pleasure  as  well  as  a  high 
privilege. 

What  Should  Be  the  Relation  of 
THE   Pastor  to  the  Bible  School? 

This  most  important  question  meets  us 
every-where,  and  naturally  claims  our  at- 
tention at  the  very  outset  of  these  lectures. 
I  propose  for  your  consideration  a  fourfold 
answer: 


12  THE   PASTOR   AND  TEACHER   TR.\INING. 

(i)  The  pastor  should  not  he  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Bible  school.  In  many  sections 
of  our  land,  especially  where  the  church 
membership  is  small  and  the  material  for 
good  workers  seemingly  very  scarce,  it  is 
conventional  to  insist  on  the  pastor  assum- 
ing the  active  duties  connected  -with  the 
superintendency  of  the  school.  As  soon 
as  he  takes  upon  himself  this  responsibility, 
if  he  is  at  all  true  to  the  position,  he  becomes 
handicapped  not  only  in  respect  to  render- 
ing the  proper  service  to  the  school  as  a 
whole,  but  also  in  reference  to  other  very 
important  departments  of  pastoral  work. 
For  example,  when  it  is  imperative  for 
the  pastor  to  be  absent  from  the  Bible 
school  to  take  part  in  any  of  the  numerous 
parish  functions  vrhich  require  his  presence, 
the  school  suffers  because  of  such  absence 
on   the    part   of   its   superintendent. 

(2)  The  pastor  should  not  be  the  teacher 
of  any  one  class  in  the  school.  Frequently 
the  class  that  custom  assigns  to  him  is 
composed  of  middle-aged  or  elderly  ladies, 
who,  of  all  the  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, least  need  the  pastor's  ministrations 
as  class  teacher.     If  it  is  absolutelv  neces- 


TIIK    PASTOR    AS    I.WSPIRICR.  1 3 

saty  that  he  teach,  let  him  take  a  class  of 
boys  who  are  going  over  Fool  Hill,  and  he 
will  be  taught  much  as  he  endeavors  to 
instruct  them.  But  better  than  this  will 
it  be  for  the  pastor  to  refuse  to  become  the 
regular  teacher  of  any  class.  He  has  a 
much  wader  and  more  effective  sphere  of 
usefulness  than  is  to  be  found  in  instruct- 
ing any  one  class.  It  would  not  be  amiss, 
in  connection  with  his  other  duties  that 
are  to  be  considered  further  on,  for  him  to 
act  from  time  to  time  as  substitute  teacher 
in  various  classes.  By  this  method  he  will 
extend  his  influence,  while  he  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  the  condition  and  the  needs 
of  many  of  his  congregation.  Pastor  Wag- 
ner, the  author  of  ''The  vSimple  Life," 
recently,  in  an  address  at  Philadelphia,  ad- 
vocated  this    practice. 

3.  The  pastor  should  not  he  an  absentee 
from  the  Bible  school.  Many  pastors,  learn- 
ing by  experience  that  their  labors  as  su- 
perintendent or  teacher  have  kept  them 
from  other  and  more  important  duties, 
when  they  change  their  pastorate  declare, 
"I  have  no  time  to  work  in  the  Sunday 
school."     Accordingly    they    remain    away 


14  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

from  the  sessions  except  on  very  especial 
occasions,  which  they  grace  with  their 
presence.  This  is,  of  all  procedures,  the 
most  harmful  to  the  highest  interests  of 
the  whole  congregation. 

4.  The  pastor  of  the  church  should  he 
the  pastor  of  the  Bible  schooly  which  is  a  de- 
partment of  the  church  w^ork  that  is  always 
growing  in  importance  in  places  where  the 
proper  attention  is  paid  to  it.  The  pastor 
should  be  the  real  as  well  as  the  nominal 
leader  in  all  departments  of  the  church 
work.  As  pastor  of  the  Bible  school  he 
need  not  interfere  with  the  distinctive  work 
of  superintendent,  officers  or  teachers. 
He  may  be  a  very  real  help  to  all  these, 
and  through  them  may  make  his  influence 
felt  in  ever>^  part  of  the  school  and  on 
every  member  thereof.  What  is  his  proper 
work  in  connection  with  the  Bible  school? 


I 


The  Pastor  Should 


NTEREST 
NFORM 
NSTRUCT 
NSPIRE 


In  this  lecture  we  have  to  do  with  this 
last-named    function    of    the    pastor.     We 


THE    PASTOR   AS   INSPIRlvR.  15 

are  to  consider  "The  Pastor  as  the  Inspirer 
of  His  Bible-school  Teachers."  Very  justly 
may  the  quer}^  be  put:  Why  consider  this 
point  first?  The  answer  is,  Because  much 
of  the  necessary  talk  that  we  hear  to-day 
concerning  teacher  training  falls  on  heed- 
less ears,  because  those  addressed  do  not 
reahze  the  importance  of  the  things  that 
are  being  told  them.  Hence  there  must 
be  a  quickening.  The  proper  person  to 
lead  in  that  quickening  is  the  pastor  of 
the  congregation.  Let  it  be  known  that 
he  believes,  with  a  conviction  that  is  well 
founded,  in  the  necessity  for  some  things 
in  connection  with  Bible-school  work  and 
that  he  is  going  to  work  for  their  realiza- 
tion; then  his  people  w411  follow  him  just 
in  the  ratio  that  they  have  faith  in  him. 
Therefore,  we  repeat,  The  first  and  most 
important  work  of  the  pastor  in  the  Bible 
school  is  to  be  an  inspirer  of  his  teachers. 
They  need  to  be  trained;  he  must  inspire 
them  to  take  the  steps  necessary  for  training. 
Let  us  consider  some  of  the  lines  along 
which  average  Bible-school  teachers  need 
inspiration:  They  need  to  be  led  to  believe 
that 


1 6  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACPIER   TRAINING. 

I.  The  Bible  School  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant institutions  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  pastor  should  believe  and  should  say 
it  until  his  teachers  believe  it  too:  The 
Bible  School  Is  a  Big  Thing.  He  can- 
not beheve  this  nor  say  it,  if  he  does  not 
know  it.  Hence  he  must  be  informed 
concerning  the  facts.  Let  us  glance  at 
three  of  them. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Protestant  Bible- 
school  army  of  the  world  numbers  over 
twenty-five  million  members.  To  write 
25,000,000  is  a  very  easy  matter,  but  to 
realize  fully  what  these  figures  stand  for 
is  not  as  easy.  Every  pastor  and  intend- 
ing pastor  should  study  them,  and  think 
about  them,  and  pray  over  them  until  he 
has  some  adequate  conception  of  what 
they  mean. 

In  the  second  place,  in  North  America 
alone  there  are  over  thirteen  million  per- 
sons enrolled  as  members  of  Protestant 
Bible  schools.  Again  the  pastor  should 
endeavor  to  comprehend  for  what  these 
figures  stand.  Thirteen  million  persons 
enrolled  for  any  purpose  other  than  that 
of  Bible  study  would  mean  a  most  impor- 
tant institution  in  our  land. 


THE   PASTOR  AS   INSPIRER. 


Moreover,  this  great,  big  institution  is 
big  in  another  sense.  It  has  connected 
with  it  as  workers  and  supporters  some  of 
the  biggest  and  best  men  and  women  of 
the  country.  The  pastor  who  wishes  to 
inspire  his  teachers  and  those  who  ought 
to  be  teachers  with  the  thought  of  the 
bigness  of  the  Bible  school  as  an  institu- 
tion should  make  a  list  of  the  great  and 
noble  men  and  women  connected  with  it, 
who  are  known  personally  or  by  reputa- 
tion to  those  who  are  to  be  inspired  with 
the  thought  of  its  bigness. 

When  these  and  similar  facts  that  could 
be  recalled  are  grasped  by  the  pastor,  he 
should  quietly  but  persistently  keep  them 
before  the  minds  of  those  who  are  workers 
in  the  school,  and  of  those  whom  he  thinks 
ought  to  be  trained  to  become  workers. 
Their  presentation,  iteration  and  reitera- 
tion will  offset  the  jeers  and  gibes  which 
are  so  frequently  used  against  the  Bible 
school  because  of  its  being  considered  some- 
thing that  is  small  and  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  only  those  who  are  small.  In  this 
as  in  so  many  other  cases,  the  people  perish 
for  lack  of  knowledge. 


1 8  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

11.  The  Bible  school  is  doing  the  most  im- 
portant work  that  can  be  done  for  mankind. 

The  Bible  school  is  not  looked  upon  as 
distinct  from,  but  as  a  department  of  the 
church  work. 

It  was  a  beautiful  October  day,  when 
all  nature  was  rejoicing  not  only  in  the 
glory  of  the  sunlight  but  in  the  beauty  of 
the  autumnal  foliage.  A  Bible-school  worker 
was  attending  a  series  of  institutes  in 
a  rural  district  of  one  of  our  great  states. 
On  this  particular  morning  he  hired  a 
countryman  to  drive  him  to  the  place  of  the 
meeting.  While  the  farmer  went  to  hitch 
up,  the  Christian  worker  was  informed 
that  the  man  was  a  materialist,  who  be- 
lieved in  nothing  but  what  he  could  per- 
ceive in  the  present  with  his  physical 
senses  and  whose  creed  was:  Eat,  drink 
and  be  merry,  for  to-morrow  w^e  die.  The 
two  got  along  very  well  together  convers- 
ing on  various  subjects,  until  suddenly  the 
driver  turned  to  his  companion,  and,  point- 
ing to  a  turn  in  the  road,  said,  "When  we 
get  around  that  bend,  I'll  shov/  you  where 
a  murderer  lives."  Then  ensued  this 
dialogue : 


THE    I'ASTOR    AS    IXSIMKKR.  1 9 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"Just  what  I  say.  'Round  the  corner 
there,  I'll  show  you  where  a  murderer 
lives." 

"Whom  did  he  murder?" 

"His  own  grandson.  He  was  drunk,  and 
he  stuck  a  knife  into  the  boy's  heart." 

"Why  was  he  not  punished?" 

"No  one  witnessed  the  deed.  The  boy's 
father  did  not  wish  to  press  a  charge  against 
his  own  father,  and  so  the  matter  was 
dropped.     There  he  is  now." 

Sure  enough,  he  was  staggering  down 
the  road,  cursing  to  himself.  As  the  ve- 
hicle came  opposite  where  he  had  stopped, 
he  demanded  a  ride.  The  driver,  in  a  con- 
ciliatory tone,  informed  him  that  he  could 
not  give  him  a  ride,  as  he  had  a  passenger 
and  was  in  a  hurry.  As  the  two  men 
drove  away,  the  oaths  of  the  blasphemous 
old  murderer  rang  in  their  ears. 

"We  got  off  easy  that  time,''  said  the 
driver. 

"How  is  that?" 

"Last  winter  I  was  driving  past  his 
house,  when  I  heard  someone  cry  'Stop.' 
I  pulled  up,  to  see  the  old  man  standing  on 


20  THE    PASTOR    AND    TEACHER    TRAIxXING. 

liis  porch  pointing  his  rifle  at  me.  He 
asked,  'Do  you  know  what  I  would  have 
done  if  you  had  not  stopped  ? '  '  No ;  what  ? ' 
'I  would  have  shot  you  dead.'" 

"Would  he  have  tried  to  kill  you?" 

"Yes,  he  was  crazy  drunk,  and  vrould 
have  shot  at  me,  if  I  had  not  pulled  up  my 
horses. 

The  Christian  worker  thought  that  the 
time  had  come  to  say  something,  so  he 
asked:  "How  old  is  that  man?" 

"Over  seventy." 

"How  long  has  he  lived  here?" 

"All  his  life." 

"Were  there  any  Sunday  schools  in  this 
neighborhood  wlien  he  w^as  a  boy?" 

' '  Oh,  yes ;  there  were  more  Sunday  schools 
here  then  than  there  are  now." 

"Would  it  not  have  been  a  good  thing 
if  somebody  had  done  something  to  save 
that  boy  when  he  v/as  about  ten  years  old? 
Would  it  not  have  been  a  fme  thing  to  be 
instrumental  in  keeping  him  from  becom- 
ing the  old  man  that  he  no\V  is?" 

The  materialist  thought  for  a  while  and 
then  answered  very  slowly  and  very  im- 
pressively, "Yes,  it  would  have  been  a  good 


THE    PASTOR   AS   INSPIRER.  21 

thing  if  someone  had  saved  that  boy  from 
becoming  the  horrible  old  man  that  he 
is." 

Then  there  was  silence.  The  young  ado- 
lescent is  not  the  only  person  who  dreams 
day-dreams.  The  Christian  worker  was 
dreaming  a  day-dream  under  the  influence 
of  that  sunlit  October  day  and  the  experi- 
ence through  which  he  had  just  passed. 
The  dream  w^as  not  prospective,  but  retro- 
spective. 

The  dreamer  was  back  at  the  desk  in  the 
office  of  the  institutional  church  of  which 
he  had  for  years  been  pastor.  As  the  door 
opened,  his  eyes  fell  upon  a  sight  that 
needed  but  to  be  seen  in  order  to  suggest 
the  whole  storv'.  Imagine  if  you  can  an 
asphalt  pavement  covered  with  a  very  thin 
layer  of  mud.  Imagine  a  woman  rolled  on 
that  pavement  until  she  was  smeared  from 
her  hat  to  her  shoes.  That  was  the  object 
that  met  the  pastor's  astonished  gaze.  As 
the  v/oman  approached  and  stood  at  the 
desk,  the  following  dialogue  took  place: 

''Will  you  give  me  some  money?" 

"No." 

"Why  not?" 


22  THE   PASTOR  AND   TEACHER  TRAINING. 

"Because,  judging  from  your  appearance, 
you  would  buy  drink  with  it." 

"Yes,  I  came  to  get  money  for  drink." 

"You  did  not  suppose  that  I  would  give 
you  money  to  drink,  did  you?  I  will  send 
you  to  an  institution  that  will  take  care 
of  you." 

A  fiend  seemed  to  be  in  her  shrill  laugh, 
as  she  replied:  "There  is  no  institution  in 
this  city  that  I  do  not  know  more  about 
than  you  do." 

Reaching  for  his  "Charities  Directory," 
the  pastor  found  a  list  of  institutions  in- 
tended for  the  care  and  protection  of  such 
as  the  woman  that  stood  before  him.  He 
thought  that  he  could  find  the  name  of 
some  place  in  which  she  would  be  safe. 
He  now  discovered,  however,  that  her  words 
were  true.  She  had  been  in  all  the  refuges. 
From  some  of  them  she  had  been  expelled; 
others  she  had  left  of  her  own  accord. 
After  he  had  read  to  her  the  names  of  a 
few  of  them,  she  again  demanded,  "Will 
you  give  me  some  money?" 

"I  will  not." 

vShe  begged  and  pleaded,  until  realizing 
that  she  was  on  the  wrong  tack,  she  turned 


THE  PASTOR  AS  INSPIRER.  23 

to  the  pastor  and  exclaimed  fiercely,  **I  want 
to  tell  you  something." 

"Go  on." 

Pointing  her  finger  at  him,  she  declared, 
"I  was  once  a  pupil  in  this  school." 

"You  were!  Wlio  was  your  superin- 
tendent?" 

"Dr.    ." 

"Who  was  your  pastor?" 

"Dr. ." 

"Who  was  your  teacher?" 

-Mrs. ." 

"Where  was  your  class  room?" 

She  informed  him,  and  then  demanded 
again,  "Are  you  going  to  give  me  any 
money?"   and  he  said  quietly,   "No." 

She  muttered  an  oath  as  she  turned 
from  him.  As  he  watched  her  retreating 
form,  he  said  to  himself:  "If  I  could  have 
that  poor,  degraded  specimen  of  humanity 
stand  in  her  present  condition  before  the 
teachers  of  this  Sunday  school,  it  would 
be  a  very  long  time  before  it  would  be 
necessary  for  me  to  say  a  word  as  to  the 
importance  of  the  work  of  the  vSunday- 
school  teacher,  for  every  one  of  them  would 
realize  that  to  be  the  instrument  of  saving 


24  THE  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

one  girl  from  becoming  like  that  degenerate 
woman  would  be  the  most  important  work 
that  any  one  could  do  on  this  earth." 

O  pastors!  O  young  men!  You  who 
are  to  be  the  pastors  of  to-morrow,  above 
all  things  realize  the  importance  of  the 
work  of  the  Bible  school.  Let  that  reali- 
zation so  possess  you  that  by  example 
and  precept  you  will  inspire  the  Christians 
in  your  congregation  to  believe  as  you  do 
concerning  it.  When  you  do  this  many 
of  the  problems  with  which  we  have  to 
contend  in  the  work  of  the  Master's  king- 
dom will  be  things  of  the  past. 

in.  Great  results  ought  to  be  expected  to 
follow  the  proper  kind   of  Bible  school  work. 

Figures  not  a  few  have  been  quoted  to 
prove  that  the  church  would  lose  its  chief 
source  of  supply  of  membership  were  the 
Bible  school  as  an  institution  to  go  out  of 
existence.  There  is  little  value  in  such 
figures,  because  they  deal  with  masses 
which  are,  for  the  most  part,  incompre- 
hensible to  the  average  mind.  The  pastor 
should  become  acquainted  with  a  number 
of  cases,  concerning  which  there  can  be  no 
doubt      that     thev     furnish     unmistakable 


THE    PASTOR    AS   INSPIRER,  25 

evidence  of  the  result  of  the  proper  kind 
of  effort  in  the  Bible  school. 

He  is  young,  but  he  is  a  good  teacher, 
doing  his  best  to  advance  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ  as  he  has  opportunity,  but  es- 
pecially in  the  Bible  school.  He  is  study- 
ing much  of  the  time  to  prepare  himself 
to  be  a  better  teacher.  He  has  completed 
four  years  of  the  five  years  course  of  teacher- 
training  work  arranged  in  the  Normal 
Courses.  What  of  it?  someone  inquires. 
Is  there  anything  remarkable  about  that? 

Only  this:  A  few  years  ago  he  knew 
nothing  about  spiritual  things.  A  street 
companion  brought  him  to  a  Bible  school 
where  the  proper  kind  of  work  is  done. 
At  once  he  was  surrounded  with  influences 
that  bound  him  to  the  school.  Soon  his 
mind  began  to  work;  he  was  led  to  inquire 
about  spiritual  things.  His  conversion  fol- 
lowed. To  unite  with  the  church  and  to 
become  a  worker  therein  were  the  only 
proper  things  to  do.  What  will  the  end 
be?  Who  can  tell?  A  splendid  Christian 
worker,  living  a  life  of  great  helpfulness 
to  his  fellowmen,  let  us  hope.  It  all  began 
in  the  Bible  school.     There  are  thousands 


26  THE   PASTOR   AND   TUACHER   TRAINING. 

like  him  over  this  land,  men  and  women 
who,  under  the  grace  of  God,  owe  what  they 
are  to  the  fact  that  they  were  early  brought 
under  the  influence  of  the  Bible  school. 

Our  teachers  need  to  be  inspired  with 
the  fact  that  where  there  are  poor  results 
the  reason  most  probably  is  that  there  are 
poor  methods;  that  little  brain  power  and 
less  consecration  are  put  into  the  work  of 
the  school.  Fellow  students,  learn  some 
such  story  as  that  of  Josephine  and  tell  it 
to  your  Bible-school  teachers,  in  order  to 
inspire  them  to  do  better  work  for  the  sake 
of  the  results  that  will  accrue.  The  story 
is  as  follows: 

Scene  I.  The  session  of  the  Bible  school 
has  just  come  to  a  close.  The  school  has 
been  very  disorderly,  and  nothing  good 
seems  to  have  been  accomplished.  The 
pastor  is  discussing  the  situation  with  one 
of  his  most  intelligent  and  influential  teach- 
ers. Finally  he  breaks  out  impatiently: 
''Why,  Deacon  Van  Boyne,  you  put  more 
brains  into  one  hill  of  potatoes  than  you 
do  into  the  teaching  of  your  Bible  class! 
Yes,  I  mean  it.  I  cannot  help  if  you  are 
angry;  what   I   say  is  absolutely  true.*' 


THK    PASTOR  AS  INSPIRER.  2  7 

Scene  11.  A  young  lady  is  in  her  room  this 
beautiful  vSabbath  afternoon.  She  over- 
heard what  her  pastor  said  to  Deacon  Van 
Boyne.  She  abruptly  terminates  her  ex- 
cited walk  across  the  room  and  seats  her- 
self before  a  mirror,  while  she  interrogates 
her  reflection  therein: 

"Josephine  Alden,  is  it  true  that  you 
put  more  brains  into  everything  else  than 
into  your  Sunday-school  work?  Yes,  it  is. 
You  know  it  is.  You  were  in  a  great  rage 
at  what  the  pastor  said  to  Deacon  Van 
Boyne,  but  you  know  it's  true,  every  word 
of  it.  And  it  may  be  said  of  others  also. 
The  Deacon  puts  more  brains  into  a  hill  of 
potatoes  than  into  his  Sunday-school  work. 
You  put  more  brains  into  everything  else 
than  into  your  Sunday-school  teaching. 
You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself! 
Get  down  on  your  knees  and  ask  the  Lord 
to  forgive  you." 

Scene  III.  At  the  same  time  Farmer  Van 
Boyne  is  pacing  his  barn  floor.  He  is  in 
such  a  rage  that  he  is  afraid  to  enter  his 
house,  lest  his  family  should  note  his  dis- 
turbance. He  has  been  cut  to  the  quick 
by  the  sharp  words  of  his  pastor,  but  above 


28  THE   PASTOR   AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

the  tumult  of  his  anger  he  hears  a  persistent 
voice  saying:  "True,  true,  truk — you  know 
it  is  true."  More  than  once  he  looks  around 
to  see  who  is  mocking  him.  At  length, 
convinced  that  he  is  alone,  he  sits  down  on 
a  wheelbarrow,  and  the  battle  rages  within 
until  his  pride  meets  its  Waterloo. 

Scene  IV.  The  pastor  in  his  study  ad- 
vances with  outstretched  hand  to  meet  a 
young  lady  who  greets  him  with:  "Please 
do  not  shake  hands  until  I  make  my  con- 
fession. Yesterday,  I  went  home  from 
Sunday  school  in  a  great  rage,  because  I 
thought  that  you  had  insulted  Deacon  Van 
Boyne  by  telling  him  that  he  puts  more 
brains  into  one  hill  of  potatoes  than  he 
does  into  all  his  Sunday-school  work.  I 
have  nothing  now  to  say  about  the  good  dea- 
con, but  I  want  you  to  know  that  your  words 
have  pierced  my  heart,  and  I  humbly  con- 
fess that  after  a  long  struggle  with  my 
blindness  and  my  pride,  I  am  willing  to 
acknowledge  that  I  have  been  putting  more 
brains  into  everything  else  than  into  my 
Sunday-school  work;  but  that  day  is  past, 
and  from  this  time  forward  I  am  going  to 
use  for  the  good  of  my  fellows  and  for  the 


TFIK    PASTOR   AS   INSPIRER.  29 

glory  of  my  God,  the  intellect  that  he  has 
given  to  me." 

Scene  V.  The  pastor  has  just  turned  from 
bidding  farewell  to  his  visitor  when  his 
hand  is  grasped  by  Deacon  Van  Boyne, 
who  accosts  him  thus:  '' Pastor,  let  me  tell 
you  that  I  parted  from  you  yesterday  with 
anything  but  Christian  feelings  towards 
you.  I  imagined  that  you  had  insulted 
me,  and  my  pride  cried  out  for  revenge. 
Now,  however,  I  am  in  a  different  mood. 
On  my  knees  I  have  fought  the  battle,  and 
I  want  you  to  know  that  you  were  right 
in  what  you  said,  and  I  hope  that  you  will 
pardon  me,  as  I  believe  the  Lord  has. 
Hereafter  the  Lord  gets  my  best.  My 
potatoes  will  not  be  any  poorer,  but  my 
Sunday-school  work  will  be  better." 

vScene  VL  About  five  years  after  this  a 
leader  of  a  Bible-school  workers'  institute, 
in  answer  to  liis  inquiries  concerning  the 
earnest,  intelligent  help  which  he  had  re- 
ceived in  the  discussions  from  a  gentleman 
present,  is  informed  that  it  is  Deacon  A^an 
Boyne,  and  hears  the  facts  narrated  above. 
He  has  the  exquisite  pleasure  of  shaking 
hands  with  a  man  who  is  using  the  intellect 


30  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAIXIN(>. 

that  God  has  given  to  him  to  such  advan- 
tage that  he  is  one  of  the  best  Bible-school 
teachers  of  his  county, — The  New  Century 
Teachers'  Monthly. 

IV.  Great  improvements  are  possible  in 
those  things  whJch  assist  in  the  best  work  of 
the  Bible  school.  **We  are  doing  the  best  we 
can  under  the  circumstances,"  is  the  ex- 
cuse offered  in  many  places  for  poor  work 
in  the  Bible  school.  Those  who  succeed  in 
life  rise  superior  to  circumstances,  or  at 
least  improve  circumstances.  Why  should 
not  the  laborers  in  the  greatest  w^ork  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  do  the  same?  Why 
should  they  permit  themselves  to  be  bound 
with  the  iron  bonds  of  circumstances? 
WTio  better  than  the  pastor  shall  inspire 
the  w^orkers  of  the  Bible  school  w^th  the 
thought  that  they  may  make  their  cir- 
cumstances more  conducive  to  better  work 
and  therefore  to  richer  fruitage?  Here  are 
some  of  the  points  concerning  w^hich  he 
should  prepare  himself  to  give  the  neces- 
sary inspiration: 

I.  Architecture.  Many  of  the  very 
best  suggestions  that  are  made  in  the  in- 
terest of  better  work  in  the  Bible  school  are 


THE   PASTOR   AS   INSPIRER.  3 1 

met  with  the  objection,  "We  cannot  do 
those  things  in  our  school  because  we  have 
not  room."  Just  so,  but  is  it  always  to 
be  thus?  Shall  not  our  teachers  be  so 
inspired  to  know^,  to  pray  for,  and  to  w^ork 
for  what  is  best  in  the  matter  of  Bible- 
school  architecture  that  they  will  set  them- 
selves to  get  it?  Shall  it  be  considered 
Christian  to  put  beautiful  stained-glass  win- 
dows into  our  churches  as  memorials  of 
those  who  are  departed,  W'hile  those  who 
are  alive  have  not  the  proper  room  for 
their  great  work?  Shall  we  encourage 
the  using  of  large  sums  of  money  for  steeples 
that  are  merely  ornamental,  and  for  bells 
that  are  rarely  heeded,  while  there  are  not 
sufficient  rooms  in  w^hich  to  carry-  on  proper- 
ly the  work  of  the  Bible  school?  Not  if 
the  teachers  of  those  schools  are  so  inspired 
with  the  thought  of  what  is  necessary  and 
what  is  possible  that  they  will  rise  in  their 
might  and  demand  it  in  the  name  of  the 
children  and  youth  of  to-day  who  ought 
to  form  the  church  of  to-morrow.  See 
what  a  ^leld  is  before  you  as  an  inspirer 
of  those  who  are  to  make  the  circumstances 
for  the  future. 


32  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHKR    TRAINING. 

2.  Bible  Study.  The  lament  is  going 
up  all  over  the  land  that  our  Bible-school 
teachers  have  not  the  time  necessary  for 
adequate  Bible  study.  Is  this  true?  Does 
not  convention,  tradition,  habit,  something 
other  than  the  fact  rule  in  this  case  ?  There 
must  be  those  who  will  face  the  conditions 
and  inspire  the  teachers  of  the  local  school 
with  the  thought  that  there  is  time  for 
Bible  study;  w^hat  is  lacking  is  the  proper 
motive. 

3.  Curriculum.  There  are  very  few 
pastors  who  are  overwhelmed  with  the 
amount  of  biblical  knowledge  possessed  by 
the  young  people  who  apply  for  church 
membership,  even  though  these  young 
people  have  had  years  of  instruction  in 
the  Bible  school.  In  most  cases  there  is 
an  indefiniteness  concerning  even  the  most 
fundamental  truths  and  the  simplest  facts 
that  would  be  anmsing  were  it  not  pitiable. 
In  many  cases  excellent  teachers  have 
spent  years  in  instructing  with  very  meager 
results.  Why?  Because  there  has  been 
no  united  effort  on  the  part  of  the  teachers 
of  the  school  to  so  systematically  teach 
some  things  that  they  shall  never  be  for- 


THIv    PASTOR    AS    INSPIRlvR.  33 

gotten.  Ill  every  Bible  school  there  should 
be  a  course  of  supplemental  work  that  will 
run  through  the  various  grades  and  be  so 
arranged  that  some  few  things  at  least 
will  be  as  well  known  to  the  members  of 
the  school  as  the  multiplication  table  is 
to  the  boys  and  girls  in  our  day  schools. 
Someone  who  stands  above  all  the  others  in 
the  school  ought  to  know  what  this  curricu- 
lum of  Bible  study  should  be  and  ought 
to  inspire  the  teachers  to  adopt  and  follow 
it.  You  see,  brethren,  how  great  is  your 
calling  in  this  regard. 

4.  Discipline.  Whereas  a  few  years  ago 
the  thought  of  discipline  in  the  Bible  school 
was  repugnant  to  the  minds  of  many  good 
persons;  to-day,  as  the  meaning  of  discipline 
is  understood,  it  is  more  and  more  regarded 
as  absolutely  essential  to  the  w^elfare  of 
the  school.  God  is  now  recognized  as  a 
God  of  order  in  the  Bible  school  as  well  as 
elsewhere.  There  are  many  who  claim  that 
it  is  useless  to  pray  for  the  manifestation 
of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  when 
those  who  thus  pray  are  disorderly.  Much 
has  been  said  about  ''the  bad  boy  prob- 
lem" and  "the  giggling  girl  problem/ 
3 


34  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

These  problems  will  never  be  soived  uncix 
the  officers,  teacners  ana  elder  pupils  in 
the  Bible  school  are  orderly.  Did  i  name 
the  pastor?  Frequently  he  has  been  the 
ciiief  transgressor.  He  sits  on  the  plat- 
form and  chats  with  the  superintendent 
and  then  wonders  w^hy  those  two  boys 
dow^n  in  that  seat  yonder  persist  in  talking. 
A  revolution  is  taking  place.  The  best 
people  ever\^where  are  insisting  on  order  in 
the  Bible  school,  to  the  end  that  its  great 
work  may  be  performed  in  the  very  best 
way.  To  carry  the  movement  to  its  proper 
consummation,  the  pastor  should  be  intelli- 
gently informed  as  to  what  is  needed,  and 
should  be  the  inspirer  of  his  teachers  to 
persevere  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  that 
which  is  for  the  best. 

5.  Teacher  Training.  All  that  has  been 
said  in  the  foregoing  may  be  summed  up 
in  the  thought  that  the  pastor  should  in- 
spire his  teachers  to  be  trained  teachers. 
To  overcome  the  objection  that  the  average 
person  has  no  time  for  receiving  the  train- 
ing, he  should  become  convinced  of  the 
fallacy  of  this  statement,  and,  selecting  a 
number  of  telling  illustrations,  should  keep 


THK    FASTOK    AS    LNSi'IKliR.  35 

them  before  his  teachers  until  they  reahze 
at  what  he  is  aiming.  Here,  for  example, 
is  one  reproduced  from  ''The  Westminster 
Teacher:" 

SOCIABILITY   VERSUS   TKACHER-TRAINING. 

She  was  a  consecrated,  talented  young 
Christian.  About  five  o'clock  one  after- 
noon on  the  way  to  her  home,  where  I  was 
to  have  supper  preparatory  to  the  drive  to 
the  station  and  the  long  ride  afterwards, 
she  brought  up  the  subject  of  the  after- 
noon's conference  of  the  Institute  just 
closed,  namely,  How  may  vSunday-school 
teachers  living  in  rural  districts  be  trained 
for  their  work?  She  was  much  influenced 
by  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and,  accordingly 
argued  in  her  brilliant  way  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  find  the  time  and  the  place  for 
teacher-training  in  the  country.  The  con- 
versation continued  until  we  entered  the 
house. 

A  chance  remark  elicited  the  information 
that  as  fewer  delegates  than  had  been  ex- 
pected were  present  at  the  Institute  a  large 
quantity  of  first-class  eatables  had  been 
left  over  and  were  in  danger  of  spoiling. 
Therefore,  an  impromptu  sociable  had  been 


T^()  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER    TRAIXIXC.. 

arranged  for  that  evening,  and  it  was  ex- 
pected that  all  the  young  people  of  the  con- 
gregation would  be  present  to  take  part 
in  the  enjoyments  of  the  occasion. 

In  ansv\^er  to  my  expressions  of  astonish- 
ment as  to  the  quickness  with  which  the 
place  of  meeting  had  been  secured,  the  ar- 
rangements made  and  the  notices  sent  out, 
she  declared  that  there  was  no  difficulty 
about  that,  as  all  the  young  people  would 
be  delighted  to  be  present.  vSome,  she  in- 
formed me,  w^ould  drive  a  distance  of  six 
miles  through  the  heavy  fog  which  was 
gathering  and  would  remain  late  into  the 
night — thinking  nothing  of  the  drive  home 
through  the  chill  and  the  blackness. 

On  the  way  to  the  station  my  driver  was 
a  lad  of  about  eighteen.  Expressing  my 
regret  that  he  would  have  such  a  long  ride 
home  alone  I  was  informed  that  he  intended 
to  spend  the  evening  at  Mrs.  Blank's. 
This  was  the  place  where  the  sociable  was 
to  be  held.  It  was  not  difficult  to  get  him 
to  talk  and  to  give  many  facts,  of  which 
this  is  the  summary.  The  social  had  been 
arranged  for  since  noon.  The  invitations 
had  been  sent  by  word  of  mouth  through- 


THE    PASTOR   AS   INSPIRHR.  37 

out  the  entire  community.  Nothing  short 
of  a  providential  hindrance  would  prevent 
the  young  people  from  assembling  and 
having  a  most  enjoyable  time. 

About  four  miles  from  my  place  of  en- 
tertainment I  stopped  at  a  farmhouse  to 
speak  to  an  acquaintance.  "The  social" 
was  the  subject  of  conversation  and  many 
facts  similar  to  those  already  detailed  were 
given. 

Seated  in  the  railway  coach  I  had  abun- 
dant food  for  thought.  The  ease,  rapidity, 
and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  ''social" 
had  been  arranged  amazed  me.  There  was, 
however,  a  very  serious  aspect  to  the  whole 
matter.  It  suggested  a  bed-rock  question, 
namely,  Do  these  young  Christians  care 
more  for  an  opportunity  to  have  a  good  time 
than  for  an  opportunity  to  prepare  them- 
selves  for  the  grandest  work   on  earth? 

If  the  suggestion  in  this  question  is  too 
harsh,  perhaps  another  one  may  be  allowed. 
Should  not  our  pastors  and  superintendents 
combat  the  fallacy  so  often  stated  thus? — 
The  reason  why  there  are  not  more  classes 
for  the  training  of  Sunday-school  teachers 
is  because  our  people  have  not  the   time. 


^S  run   PASTOK   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

The  "social"  episode  convinces  the  writer 
that  the  time  will  be  found  and  the  place 
forthcoming  just  as  soon  as  our  young  peo- 
ple are  as  deeply  interested  in  the  subject 
of  teacher-training  as  they  are  in  sociability. 
Of  course,  How  to  get  them  interested?  is 
a  most  important  question,  but  it  will  never 
be  answered  until  the  fact  that  workers 
can  have  training  if  they  wish  it  is  fairly 
faced. 

6.  Teachers'  Meeting.  It  is  now  con- 
ceded that  while  good  work  may  be  done 
in  a  Bible  school  in  which  there  is  no 
teachers'  meeting,  the  best  work  cannot 
be  done  in  such  a  school.  The  difficulties 
connected  with  the  holding  of  a  teachers' 
meeting  are  well  known  and  not  at  till 
depreciated  by  the  speaker.  At  the  same 
time  there  is  a  very  strong  suspicion  abroad 
that  some  teachers  remain  away  from  the 
teachers'  meeting  because  when  they  did 
attend  they  did  not  receive  anything  help- 
ful. Here  is  a  great  opportunity  for  the 
pastor  to  be  an  inspirer,  but  in  order  to 
be  such  there  will  be  necessity  for  much 
more  than  sounding  words.  In  this  re- 
spect the  inspirer  must  work,  work,  work. 


THE    PASTOR   AS   INSPIRER.  39 

Said  an  experienced  Bible-school  Vv^orker 
to  a  young  brother  in  the  ministry,  "How 
many  teachers  are  in  your  Sunday  school?" 

"Thirty-two." 

"Would  you  spend  as  much  time  in  pre- 
paring to  instruct  them  in  teachers'  meet- 
ing as  you  spend  on  the  preparation  of 
your  Sunday  morning  sermon?" 

"I  certainly  would  not." 

"Do  you  not  think  that,  if  you  did,  you 
would  get  more  results  than  you  now  ob- 
tain from  your  morning  sermon?" 

The  young  preacher  did  not  answer,  but 
gave  the  impression  that  he  did  not  think 
that  the  teachers'  meeting  was  at  all  com- 
parable to  the  morning  sermon.  But,  think ! 
vSuppose  he  could  have  inspired  those  thirty- 
two  teachers — would  he  not  be  duplicating 
his  preaching  many  times  over? 

One  of  the  best,  if  not  the  very  best 
Bible  schools  from  the  standpoint  of  spiritual 
fruitage,  with  which  I  have  ever  been  ac- 
quainted owes  most  of  its  success  to  the 
fact  that  all  through  its  history  it  has  main- 
tained a  teachers'  meeting  in  which  the 
pastors  of  the   church,   as  they  succeeded 


40  THE  PASTOR   AND   TEACHER  TRAINING. 

one  another,  have  had  much  to  do  with 
inspiring  the  teachers. 

How  the  inspirations  along  the  various 
lines  suggested  in  this  lecture  are  to  be 
given  we  will  consider  in  our  last  lecture, 
The  Pastor  at  Work. 

''The  Problem  of  Increased  Sunday  School 
Efficiency"  is  not  a  simple  one.  There  are 
several  factors  involved,  and  the  highest 
efficiency  can  be  effected  only  in  reaching 
all.  I  cannot  consider  them  all,  and  will 
suggest  only  four.  The  first  is  the  pastor. 
The  pastor  is  or  should  be  the  spiritual 
leader  in  every  department  of  the  work  of 
his  church.  I  do  not  mean  the  executive 
officer  of  every  department,  but  the  moving, 
guiding,  inspiring  spirit  in  all.  I  do  not 
think  he  should  be  the  superintendent  of 
the  school,  or  a  teacher  in  the  school,  but 
its  pastor.  Indeed,  that  ''evangelism"  de- 
scribed as  "preventive,"  ** paternal"  and 
"educative,"  describes  the  pastor's  sphere 
of  work  in  his  Sunday  school.  And  he  will 
make  this  work  efficient  through  his  personal 
contact  with  the  school  as  a  whole,  by 
classes  and  as  individuals.  But  his  largest 
work    will    be    done    through    multiplying 


TH^    PASTOR    AS   INSPIRER.  4 1 

himself  in  the  ideals,  the  purposes,  the 
standards  of  his  teachers  and  officers.  Let 
him  do  it  as  he  will — only  let  him  do  it. 
As  the  commanding  general  influences  the 
morals  and  efficiency  of  his  soldiers  through 
his  influence  upon  his  staff  and  military 
cabinet;  as  a  great  merchant  prince  reaches 
his  business  through  his  agents,  so  will  a 
wise  pastor  touch  most  vitally  the  life  of 
his  school  through  his  officers  and  teachers. 
But  he  must  do  it/' — From  an  address  by 
the  Rev.  W.  C.  Merritt. 


THE   PASTOR  AND   BIBLE   STlTDV.  43 


LECTURE  II. 

THE     PASTOR     LEADING      FIIS     TEACHERS     IN 
BIBLE    STUDY. 

The  session  of  the  teachers'  meeting  had 
just  closed,  and  the  teachers  were  sitting 
or  standing  in  groups  discussing  the  lesson 
for  the  next  Sunday,  when  she  approached 
the  table  at  which  was  seated  the  pastor, 
who  had  led  the  teachers  in  their  study 
of  the  lesson.  Referring  to  the  fact  that 
he  had  urged  thein  to  endeavor  to  get  the 
pupils  to  study  the  Sunday-school  lessons 
at  home,  she  announced  somewhat  bellig- 
erently, ''I  am  tired  of  having  people  talk 
about  the  pupils  studying  their  lessons  at 
home." 

"Why?" 

' '  Because  they  do  not  know  how  to  study 
their  lessons,  and  moreover,  the  teachers 
do  not  know  how  to  study  their  lessons, 
much  less  are  they  able  to  show  the  pupils 
how  to  studv.     What  is  the  use  of  teachers 


,-t  IHE    PASTOR    AXl)   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

telling  pupils  to  study  when  they,  them- 
selves, do  not  know  how  to  study  or  to 
show  the  pupils  how  to  study?" 

As  the  words  issued  from  her  mouth, 
indignation  blazed  from  her  eyes.  The  im- 
pression she  made  has  never  been  effaced. 
The  pastor  took  her  words  to  heart,  and 
from  that  night  on  has  made  it  his  prayer 
and  his  study  to  learn  how  to  lead  his 
teachers  in  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and 
each  week,  especially  in  the  study  of  that 
part  of  it  which  contains  the  lesson  text 
for  the  next  Sunday.  He  went  still  far- 
ther than  this.  W'lien  teachers  complained 
that  their  pupils  did  not  study  at  home 
he  insisted  that  they  should  not  be  re- 
quested to  study  unless  some  one  had  first 
shown  them  just  what  to  study  and  how 
to  study.  He  has  been  fairly  successful 
in  making  Bible-school  teachers  understand 
that  they  must  learn  how  to  study  the  Bible 
and  be  prepared  to  show^  their  pupils  how 
to  study,  if  any  real  results  are  to  be  ex- 
pected. Any  success  that  he  may  have 
had  in  this  direction  is  due  to  the  intelli- 
gence and  the  boldness  of  the  young  lady, 
who  first  opened  his  eyes  not  only  to  the 


IHii   PASTOR   AND   BIBLE   STUDY.  4;"5 

condition  of  affairs  but  also  to  the  neces- 
sary remedy  therefor. 

There  will  be  no  real  study  of  the  Bible 
at  home  until  the  teacher  is  able  to  indicate 
to  the  pupils  what  she  wishes  studied  and 
how  it  is  to  be  studied.  The  average 
teachers  of  to-day  are  unable  to  do  this 
unless  they,  themselves,  are  instructed  in 
this  art  of  studying  at  home.  Until  the 
time  comes  when  the  Bible  school  will 
have  some  one  especially  trained  for  this 
work  it  must  devolve  upon  the  pastor. 
Hence  we  are  in  this  lecture  to  consider 
' '  The  Pastor  Leading  His  Teachers  in  Bible 
vStudy."  This,  of  course,  presupposes  the 
fact  that  he  knows  how  to  study  the  Bible. 
If  he  does,  he  has  not  attended  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  vain. 

There  are  many  methods  of  studying 
the  Bible.  The  pastor  may  lead  his  teach- 
ers in  at  least  five  of  these: 

I.  Devotionally.  It  cannot  be  repeated 
too  often  nor  emphasized  too  strongly  that 
with  all  our  so-called  modern  psychology 
and  pedagogy  the  Bible  must  be  studied 
devotionally.  While  Christ  alone  is  the 
Bread    and    the    Water    of    Life,    still    the 


4-0         rn::  p.^-tok  axd  TEACHER  training. 

Scriptures  have  been  given  to  us  that  we 
may  be  led  to,  and  kept  in  touch  with, 
him  who  can  supply  every  need.  Many  a 
well-meaning  pastor  has  allowed  his  spirit 
to  starve  while  he  studied  the  Bible  homi- 
letically  for  the  purpose  of  getting  that 
vv^hich  would  feed  his  flock.  Many  masters 
of  methods  in  the  Bible  school  have  little 
real  pow^er  because  they  have  forgotten  or 
neglected  to  study  the  Word  for  the  sake 
of  spiritual  nourishment.  So  much  has 
been  said  on  this  subject  and  so  many  books 
on  it  have  been  published  that  it  needs  but 
to  be  put  into  the  foreground  for  the  pastor 
to  recognize  that  in  doing  the  other  things, 
for  which  this  lecture  course  stands,  this 
most  important  of  all  must  not  be  left  un- 
done. 

II.  Intellectually.  There  is  much  that 
should  be  known  concerning  the  Word 
by  those  w^ho  are  to  teach  which  may  be 
grouped  under  the  head  of  intellectual 
study.     For  example: 

I.  The  Bible  as  a  book,  should  be  studied. 
A  recently  issued  Training  Course  for  Sun- 
day-school teachers  wuth  other  things  con- 
tains this  comprehensive  course  on  the  Bible  : 


THE   PASTOR   AND   BIBLE   STUDY.  47 

(a)  The  Book  itself. 

(b)  Bible  History. 

(c)  Bible  Geography. 

(d)  Bible  Worship  and  Customs. 

The  first  section  contains  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  Bible,  including  its  name,  its 
unity  and  its  divisions ;  its  canon ;  the  books 
of  the  old  Testament ;  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament;  how  the  Bible  was  written  and 
preserved;  the  story  of  its  translations; 
and  the  various  kinds  of  literature  of  which 
it  is  composed. 

Some  such  course  as  this  will  be  very 
helpful  for  every  pastor  and  Bible-school 
teacher  as  a  background  for  the  truths 
that  are  to  be  taught. 

2.  The  various  parts  of  the  Bible  should 
be  studied.  This  remarkable  collection  of 
sixty-six  books  should  be  known  not  only 
as  a  unit,  but  also  as  composed  of  a  mmi- 
ber  of  books,  each,  in  some  respects,  dis- 
tinct from  all  the  others,  and  yet  all  com- 
bined in  one  unique  whole.  The  answers 
to  the  following  series  of  questions  concern- 
ing every  book  of  the  Bible  are  of  great 
importance   as   intellectual   furnishings  for 


48  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

the   teacher  in   the   school   which  has  the 
Bible  for  its  one  text-book: 


I 


THERE? 
HEN? 
HY? 
BY  if  HOM? 
FOR  !  f  HOM? 


To  the  facts  obtained  by  answering  these 
questions  should  be  added  a  knowledge  of 
the  contents  of  each  book,  concerning  which 
the  question  should  be,  What  does  it 
contain  ? 

3.  Thai  part  of  the  Bible  which  is  assigned 
for  a  particular  lesson  should  he  studied. 
Two  serious  errors  are  committed  by  Bible- 
school  teachers: 

(a)  There  are  those  who,  because  they 
are  familiar  with  the  Scripture  story  or 
teaching  selected  for  a  particular  lesson, 
trust  to  general  information  and  the  in- 
spiration of  the  lesson  hour.  Such  teachers 
occasionally  interest  and  instruct  their  pu- 
pils, but  as  a  rule  they  are  very  wearisome 
to  Hsten  to,  as  they  deal  in  generalities  or 
repeat  the  facts  and  truths  which  the 
pupils  have  heard  so  often  that  they  are 
verv  tired  of  them. 


THE    PASTOR   AND    BIBLE    STIDV.  49 

(b)  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  teachers 
who  do  not  properly  prepare  many  of  their 
lessons  because  they  are  so  difficult.  ''That 
lesson  is  not  suitable  for  children/'  they 
declare,  and  spend  much  valuable  time  in 
telling  the  members  of  the  class  how  hard 
the  lesson  is;  how  a  much  more  suitable 
one   could  have   been   selected. 

Here  is  an  opportunity  for  the  pastor  to 
insist  that,  no  matter  how  familiar  a  Scrip- 
ture selection  may  be,  it  should  not  be 
taught  without  dihgent,  careful  prepara- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  Moreover, 
he  may  show  the  discouraged  teacher  how 
to  study  even  the  hardest  lesson,  so  as  to 
get  from  it  just  those  truths  which  his 
pupils  need  in  their  everyday  life  and  in 
preparing  for  the  life  to  come. 

HI.  Pedagogically.  To  the  devout  study 
of  the  Word  and  to  that  intellectual 
study  of  it  which  is  so  helpful  to  the  teacher, 
there  should  be  added  a  pedagogical  study. 
That  is  to  say:  The  Bible-school  teacher 
should  study  the  Bible  and  especially  each 
lesson  therefrom  with  the  thought  of  teach- 
ing it.  My  friend,  Mr.  Walking  Encyclo- 
4 


so  THE    PASTOR   AxXD   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

pedia,  has  larger  funds  of  more  kinds  of 
knowledge  than  has  anyone  with  whom 
I  am  acquainted,  but  he  is  the  poorest 
teacher  that  I  ever  knew,  although  for 
years  he  has  been  endeavoring  to  earn 
iiis  living  by  teaching.  What  is  the  trouble 
"ivith  him?  He  does  not  know  how  to  im- 
part to  others  the  knowledge  which  he  pos- 
sesses. Position  after  position  he  has  lost, 
because  he  does  not  know  how  to  teach, 
and  in  secular  lines  so-called  instructors  who 
are  unable  to  teach  are  not  in  demand.  You 
and  I  are  to  help  bring  in  the  good  time 
when  the  Bible  school  will  be  on  a  par  with 
the  day  school  in  this  respect. 

Perhaps  in  no  one  particular  will  the 
pastor  do  more  for  his  teachers  than  in 
leading  them  to  appreciate  the  importance 
of  a  preview  in  preparing  to  teach  and  to 
review  a  quarter's  lessons.  He  will  be  do- 
ing his  teachers  an  inestimable  service  who 
convinces  them  that  in  preparing  for  the 
weekly  lesson  study,  and  especially  for  the 
review  at  the  end  of  the  quarter,  nothing 
will  be  more  helpful  to  the  teacher  than  a 
preview.     There  are  schools  where  this  pre- 


THK    PASTOR    AND    BIB1J-:    STIDV.  5 1 

view  will  have  to  be  arranged  by  the  teacher 
himself;  in  other  places  the  pastor,  the 
superintendent,  or  some  one  especially  se- 
lected for  the  work  will  outline  the  previevv, 
a  copy,  of  which  will  be  handed  to  each 
teacher  as  near  the  beginning  of  the  quarter 
as  possible. 

Where  the  teacher  has  to  make  his  own 
preview,  the  pastor  will  have  a  golden  op- 
portunity in  showing  him  how  to  do  it. 
It  may  be  arranged  by  carefully  reading, 
at  one  sitting,  the  titles  and  the  golden 
texts  of  the  lessons  for  the  quarter,  so  as 
to  ascertain  the  particular  truths  that 
should  be  emphasized  in  the  teaching  of 
each  lesson  and  in  the  review  of  all  the 
lessons.  Again,  at  another  sitting,  the 
Scripture  selections  for  the  different  lessons 
may  be  read  in  order  to  test  whether  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  in  reference  to  the 
lesson  truth  is  warranted  by  the  lesson  text. 
At  a  third  reading,  there  may  be  selected 
a  few  words  for  each  lesson  that  will  recall 
the  truth  of  that  lesson.  Here  is  a  speci- 
men preview  arranged  for  the  lessons  of  the 
first  quarter  of  1905 : 


S2  THK    PASTOR    AND    TEACHKR    TRAINING. 

JESUS  CHRIST  THE 

Word,  Life,  Light  Lesson  I. 

Lamb  Lesson  II. 

Master  Lesson  III. 

Partner  I^esson  IV. 

New  Life  Lesson  V. 

Living  \\^\ter  Lesson  VI. 

Helper  Lesson  VII. 

Great  Physician  Lesson  VIII. 

Nourisher  Lesson  IX. 

Separator  Lesson  X. 

Liberator  Lesson  XI. 

Light  Lesson  XII. 

Throughout  the  entire  quarter  this 
thought  may  be  kept  prominently  before 
the  minds  of  the  pupils: 

JESUS   CHRIST   WILL   BE 

everything  needful 

TO   THE   TRUE   DISCIPLE. 

On  every  Sunday  the  endeavor  should 
be  to  illustrate  this  truth  from  a  different 
standpoint,  and  the  word  or  words  se- 
lected as  the  cue  thought  for  the  lesson  of 
the  day  should  be  emphasized.  In  this 
way  the  teacher  will  work  in  harmony 
with  the  principles  of  correlation  and  con- 


THE   PASTOR   AND   BIBLE   STUDY.  ^^ 

centration,  which  we  consider  in  Lecture  IV. 
The  principle  of  apperception  may  be  fol- 
lowed by  introducing  each  lesson  with  a 
story  of  something  familiar  to  the  pupils, 
which  will  help  to  lead  up  to,  and  to 
emphasize,  the  chief  thought  of  the  lesson. 
Here  is  an  introduction  to  the  story  of 
Jesus  talking  to  the  woman  at  Jacob's 
well  that  enables  the  teacher  to  get  the 
point  of  contact,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
prepare  for  the  closing  thought  of  the 
lesson,  namely,  Jesus  is  the  Living  Water: 
Many  years  ago,  in  Hudson  county,  New 
Jersey,  there  was  a  long-continued  drought, 
during  w^hich  both  people  and  cattle  suffered 
much  for  w^ant  of  water.  There  was,  how- 
ever, one  well  which  seemed  to  be  inex- 
haustible. Its  waters  were  clear,  cool  and 
soft.  At  first  its  owner  allowed  the  neigh- 
bors to  come  and  take  as  much  as  they 
wanted,  but  gradually  the  numbers  using 
the  well  so  increased  that  it  was  contin- 
uously surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  people  en- 
deavoring to  fill  all  kinds  of  vessels.  It 
became  necessary  to  make  some  regulations 
concerning  the  drawing  of  the  water,  so  it  was 
sold  for  a  cent  a  pail,  and  those  coming  for 


54         THE  PASTOR  axd  teacher  training. 

it  were  compelled  to  form  in  line  and 
await  their  turn.  Still  the  crowds  came, 
and  the  owner  of  the  well  reaped  such  a 
harvest  of  coppers  that  he  soon  became 
well-to-do.  Speculators  came  from  a  dis- 
tance, bought  the  water  in  quantities,  and 
retailed  it  to  the  large  numbers  w^ho  were 
more  than  eager  to  buy.  The  flow  con- 
tinued all  through  the  dry  season,  and 
multitudes  were  blessed  because  of  the  well. 

Near  Sychar  (look  up  this  place  on  the 
map)  is  a  wonderful  wtII,  the  existence  of 
w^hich  was  known  as  far  back  as  the  time 
of  Jacob,  which  is  called  Jacob's  well.  It 
is  about  two  miles  southeast  of  Nablus, 
the  ancient  Shechem,  near  Mount  Gerizim. 
This  wq\\  is  now  partially  fdled  up  because 
of  the  great  amount  of  stones  and  rubbish 
that  has  been  thrown,  or  has  fallen,  into  it. 
In  ancient  times,  however,  it  must  have 
been  a  great  blessing  to  the  neighborhood, 
and  in  the  time  of  Jesus,  it  was  the  source 
of  water  supply  for  many  persons. 

Here  Jesus  sat  and  talked  with  the  woman 
of  Samaria,  and  told  her  about  a  kind  and 
a  quantity  of  water,  concerning  which  she 
had  never  even  dreamed,  but  of  which  she 


THE    PASTOR    AND    BIBI.IC    STl'DV.  55 

afterwards  partook  to  her  great  joy  and 
everlasting  blessedness.  It  is  of  this  water 
that  w^e  are  to  study  to-day. 

Is  it  possible  to  over-estimate  the  help 
that  the  pastor  can  be  to  his  teachers  in 
leading  them  in  this  kind  of  pedagogical 
work?  When  he  does  so,  will  the  Bible 
be  any  less  real  to  them?  Will  they  know 
more  or  less  than  they  do  now^?  Will  the 
pupils  pay  attention  to  them?  Will  the 
pupils  know  more  at  the  end  of  the  quarter 
than  they  do  now  with  the  present  hap- 
hazard methods  of  Bible  study?  Will 
more  of  them  be  brought  to  Christ  than 
under  present  conditions?  Will  they  be- 
come more  intelligent  disciples?  These 
questions  are  asked,  not  because  there  is 
any  doubt  concerning  the  answers,  but  to 
deepen  the  conviction  that  this  kind  of 
Bible  study  will  be  productive  of  great 
good  along  those  lines  wliich  furnish  the 
only  reasons  for  the  existence  of  the  Bible 
school. 

IV.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  needs  of 
the  pupils.  Too  many  teachers  study  the 
Bible-school  lesson  from  the  standpoint  of 
their  own  needs.     The  result  is  that  thev 


56  THE   PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

teach  along  the  plan  of  their  ovv'n  experi- 
ences and  capabilities,  feeding  themselves 
a  little  while  their  pupils  starve.  To  cor- 
rect this  improper  method  of  teaching  the 
pastor  must  himself,  or  by  proxy,  insist 
on  the  teacher  who  is  willing  to  learn  to 
teach  asking  at  least  three  questions  con- 
cerning every  lesson  text: 

What  is  the  chief  lesson  that  I  should 
learn  from  this  text? 

What  is  the  chief  lesson  for  my  class? 

How  am  I  to  convey  this  lesson  to  my 
pupils? 

Here  the  pastor's  knowledge  of  the  things 
wliich  w^e  are  to  consider  in  Lectures  HI 
and  IV  will  come  into  play.  We  shall  an- 
ticipate somewhat. 

Of  one  fact  the  teacher  must  be  made 
aw^are,  and  from  it  he  must  never  get  away 
if  he  is  to  properly  instruct  those  in  his 
class,  namely,  that  he  must  study  his  lesson 
with  the  thought  of  what  they  are.  Years 
ago  a  lady  presented  the  speaker  to  the 
members  of  her  large  class,  all  of  the  fem- 
inine gender,  but  varying  in  age  from  thir- 
teen to  over  eighty  years.  ''Why  do  you 
not  divide  vour  class?"   she  was  asked. 


THE   PASTOR   AND   BIBLE  STUDY.  57 

**0h!  I  love  them  everyone." 

''You  would  not  be  a  good  teacher  if 
you  did  not,  but  you  cannot  teach  them 
all  and  give  them  what  they  need.  Why 
not,  because  you  love  them,  divide  the 
class  according  to  age?" 

*'0h!  they  all  love  me." 

"Doubtless,  but  you  cannot  teach  them 
properly.  A  girl  of  thirteen  does  not  need 
the  same  truth  for  a  lesson  that  the  saint 
of  eighty  does.  You  are  unjust  to  your 
class  in  trying  to  instruct  them  all  together. ' ' 

vShe  did  not,  or  would  not,  see  the  point, 
and  is  perhaps  dropping  Sunday  by  Sun- 
day a  little  milk  or  a  little  meat  into  the 
spiritual  natures  of  her  pupils,  while  she 
might  be  feeding  them  all  according  to 
their  needs  and  their  capabilities. 

We  may  but  glance  at  some  of  the  ways 
in  which  the  pastor  can  lead  his  teachers 
in  the  study  of  the  \\'ord  from  the  stand 
point  of  the  pupils: 

I.  The  Primaries.  In  this  grade  the  im- 
agination is  very  active.  Take  the  lesson 
that  we  are  to  study  on  New  Year's  Day. 
Instead  of  taking  that  lesson  verse  by 
verse  and  going  over  it,  so  that  the  chief 


5^  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRxUNING. 

result  will  be  weariness,  the  teacher  should 
be  led  to  so  see  what  the  text  means  that 
she  can  get  her  pupils  in  imagination  to 
see  it  too.  The  appeal  all  along  the  line 
of  the  teaching  should  be  to  this  faculty 
of  the  little  folks'  mind.  In  making  this 
appeal  no  violence  need  be  done  to  Scrip- 
ture, nor  need  the  Holy  Spirit  be  any  the 
less  honored  than  he  was  when  Jesus  ap- 
pealed in  his  parables  to  the  imagination 
of  his  mature  hearers.  Here  are  three 
pictures  that  the  children  may  very  easily 
be  led  to  imagine  under  the  suggestion  of 
the  teacher  who  has  learned  what  an  aid 
she  has  in  the  imagination  of  the  children 
before  her: 

Jesus  as  the  light  of  heaven. 

Jesus  shining  on  earth. 

Jesus  helping  his  children  to  shine. 

After  the  pictures  have  been  seen,  the 
endeavor  should  be  to  get  the  little  folks 
to  do.  Here  the  appeal  should  be  to  the 
trait  of  imitation,  which  is  so  strong  in  the 
members  of  the  Primary  Department.  Ad- 
vantage should  be  taken  of  the  fact  that 
young   children   deal   in   the   concrete   and 


THE  PASTOR  AND  BIBLE  STUDY.        59 

never  in  the  abstract.  Therefore,  in  mak- 
ing the  appHcation  of  this  lesson,  Jesus 
giving  light  to  the  Vvorld  should  be  held 
up  for  the  imitation  of  the  pupil.  Ex- 
amples of  his  giving  light  should  be  shown, 
and  the  analogy  between  what  he  did  and 
what  his  children  may  do  should  be  pre- 
sented. 

The  teacher  who  is  stimulated  by  lier 
pastor  to  thus  study  the  various  lessons 
with  the  thought  of  the  pupils  in  view 
will,  by  experimentation,  so  learn  \\hat  is 
helpful  that  she  will  be  able  to  get  along 
with  but  a  suggestion  now  and  then  from 
the  one  who  started  her  in  her  study.  It 
is  the  start  that  is  difficult. 

2.  TJie  Juniors.  The  appeal  to  the  im- 
agination cannot  be  made  to  Junior  pupils. 
They  are  in  the  literal,  matter-of-fact  age. 
They  may  wobble  all  they  please  in  regard 
to  the  lines  of  rectitude,  but  they  want  the 
teacher  to  be  very  exact,  very  precise; 
no  imagining  for  them;  they  would  call 
it  lying.  Is  there  no  method  of  studying 
the  lesson  for  them?  There  is,  and  it  is  a 
very  effective  one.  They  delight  in  action ; 
they  will  be  interested  in  truth  that  is  in- 


6o  THI^   PASTOR  AND  TEACHER   TRAINING. 

carnated  in  a  person.  The  pastor  who 
knows  this  will  endeavor  to  get  his  teachers 
of  Juniors  to  stud}^  their  lesson  wath  a  view 
of  presenting  its  chief  truth  as  incarnated 
in  some  person  or  persons. 

Take  again  the  lesson  used  for  the  Pri- 
maries. The  teacher  w^ho  knows  her  Junior 
pupils  will  begin  with  the  statement  in 
verse  6:  There  was  a  man.  What  kind  of 
a  man?  What  did  he  do?  The  pupils' 
thoughts  will  be  directed  to  the  man,  be- 
cause they  like  to  think  about  men.  This 
man  will  be  pictured  going  about  giving 
light  to  men.  The  blind  man  to  whom 
he  gave  physical  light,  the  paralytic  whose 
soul  he  flooded  with  light  after  he  had 
healed  the  poor  palsied  body,  the  sisters 
of  Bethany  from  whom  darkness  was  driven 
when  their  brother  walked  forth  from  the 
tomb,  will  be  pictured.  The  Light  of  the 
World  in  action  w'ill  be  presented  to  these 
action-loving  Juniors. 

Juniors  are  in  the  age  when  they  like  to 
do  something  themselves,  so  instead  of 
asking  them  to  sit  quietly  and  listen  to 
a    lecture    or    even    to    answer    questions 


THLv    PASTOR    AM)    lilBLK    STl'DV.  6l 

merely,  the  teacher  who  understands  her 
pupils  will  provide  them  with  pads  and 
pencils,  and  will  let  them  work  with  their 
hands  w^hile  they  listen  and  answ^er.  For 
example,  she  will  have  them  print  in  large 
letters  the  word 

LIGHT 

Before  this  she  will  Imvc  them  print  in 
smaller  letters  the  different  classes  of  light, 

such    as    PHYSICAL,    MENTAL    and    SPIRITUAL. 

vShe  wdll  then  have  them  print  the  sources 
of  the  various  kinds  of  light,  all  the  time 
leading  up  to  the  thought  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Light  of  the  World,  that  there  can 
be  no  true  spiritual  light  apart  from  him. 
vShe  wall  also  endeavor  to  get  the  pupils  to 
resolve  to  follow  this  liglit.  In  order  to 
have  the  facts  and  truths  of  the  lesson  im- 
pressed she  will  ask  her  pupils  to  take 
clean  sheets  of  paper  and  to  copy  for  preser- 
vation what  they  have  already  printed. 
The  summing  up  of  the  lesson  will  be  some- 
what as  follows: 


PHYvSICAL     T    J /-\  J  J  rr\  GAS,  etc. 
MENTAL         I      I  I  -r  H     I     STUDY,  etc. 
SPIRITUAL   IvlVJll  1     CHRIvST. 


62  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

The  resolve  that  the  pupils  make  may  be 
worded  in  this  fashion: 

e:vkry  day  we  will  receive 

THE  LIGHT 

OF   THE   WORLD. 

The  ordinary  teacher  will  not  undertake 
this  work  unless  stimulated  to  do  so  by 
someone,  and  will  probably  not  persevere 
in  it  for  any  length  of  time  without  some 
encouragement.  The  work  cannot  be  per- 
formed without  the  necessary  material  for 
it.  If  the  pastor  does  not  initiate  and  help 
carry  it  on,  he  ought  at  least  to  be  able  to 
suggest  it  and  to  advise  concerning  it. 
What  a  field  lies  open  before  us,  young 
gentlemen,  if  we  are  keen  enough  to  note 
these  possibilities  and  bold  enough  to  face 
the  difficulties  connected  with  the  work. 
But  you  object:  Our  Bible-school  teachers 
are  not  prepared  for  that  kind  of  work. 
Too  true,  but  whose  is  the  fault?  Have 
not  those  who  ought  to  have  been  the 
leaders  remiss?  Are  we  going  to  allow 
the  workers  of  the  next  generation  to  rise 
in  condemnation  because  we  have  not  lived 
up  to  our  light? 


THE    PASTOR    AND    BIBLE    STUDY.  63 

3.  The  Adolescents.  Two  pictures  are  in- 
delibly stamped  on  my  memory.  I  shall 
never  forget  them  as  long  as  I  live.  Per- 
haps if  I  can  show  them  to  you,  they  will 
help  you  in  the  great  work  before  you. 

(a)  It  was  long  ago,  when  I  was  a  boy. 
We  had  a  good  man  as  teacher,  whom  I 
always  think  of  now  as  a  talking  machine 
\vound  up  very  carefully  during  the  week 
to  unwind  in  the  presence  of  the  class  of 
bright,  intelligent  young  adolescents.  This 
pious  man  would  begin  and  go  on  talking 
on,  and  about,  the  lesson  until  the  super- 
intendent's bell  called  for  order.  One  day, 
with  a  lamb-like  expression,  a  young  fellovv^ 
looked  up  into  the  teacher's  face  and  very 
innocently  inquired,  "Teacher,  was  Jere- 
miah ever  in  Ireland?"  Then  there  was  a 
scene.  Teacher  exploded,  and  the  boys 
laughed.  The  more  he  scolded  the  less 
inclined  they  were  to  respect  him.  Thus 
it  went  on  for  minute  after  minute,  the 
angr>'  man  becoming  more  angry,  and  the 
tantalizing  boys  becoming  more  provoking. 
The  ringing  of  the  bell  put  an  end  to  the 
episode  for  the  time  being.  Nothing  was 
gained,  much  was  lost  by  the  teacher. 


04  THK    PASTOR    AND    TKACHKR    TRAINIXC. 

(b)  She  was  a  beautiful  woman  of  cul- 
ture, who,  at  much  personal  vSelf-sacrifice, 
taught  a  class  of  big  boys.  I  can  see  her 
yet  as  she  approached  me  on  that  vSunday 
afternoon  and  asked,  ''What  do  you  sup- 
pose John  did  this  afternoon?" 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Jolm 
referred  to  was  a  lad  of  about  sixteen. 
Although  he  had  been  to  vSee  me  to  talk  over 
the  possibility  of  his  studying  for  the  min- 
istry, still  I  was  prepared  for  his  doing 
almost  anything.  It  w^as  with  an  anxious 
heart  covered  by  a  calm  exterior  that  I 
said,  "What  has  John  been  doing?" 

"Just  as  I  was  in  the  midst  of  my  ex- 
planation of  verse  sixteen  of  to-day's  les- 
son, he  broke  out  and  said,  'Teacher,  I 
would  like  to  have  something  to  say  about 
that  verse.'" 

i\Iucli  reheved,  I  replied,  "That  is  all 
right;  you  gave  John  a  chance  to  say  what 
he  wished  to?" 

She  seemed  surprised  and  said,  "John 
acted  very  impolitely." 

I  assured  her  that  he  had  not,  but  I 
learned  in  the  course  of  the  long  conver- 
sation   that    followed    that    she    felt    nmch 


THE    PASTOR   AXD    BIBLE   STUDY.  65 

pained  at  John's  behavior,  and  that  she 
resented  the  thought  that  he  had  any 
right  to  interrupt  her  in  the  well-prepared 
discourse  which  she  was  giving  to  the  class. 
My  effort  to  show  her  how  I  would  rejoice 
at  ever}^  such  interruption,  and  how  I 
vrould  give  pupils  of  the  age  of  those  in 
her  class  every  opportunity  to  ask  questions, 
and  even  to  challenge  the  statements  of 
Scripture,  was  fruitless,  and  she  departed, 
evidently  feeling  that  she  had  been  badly 
treated  by  both  pupil  and  superintendent. 
These  two  pictures  indicate  the  kind  of 
study  that  is  necessary  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher  of  young  adolescents.  He  who  ex- 
pects them  to  listen  to  dogmatic  state- 
ments and  to  accept  the  conclusions  of 
their  elders  without  questioning,  will  find 
continuous  trouble  in  the  effort  to  instruct. 
He  who  puts  himself  on  the  plane  of  a 
fellow-student  with  the  young  folks,  who 
will  welcome  questions,  who  will  remember 
that  doubt  is  natural  in  this  period  of  life, 
and  who  will  not  only  permit  but  also  en- 
courage the  asking  of  questions,  Hiay  have 
great  hope  of  leading  the  young  adolescents 
in  Bible  study. 


66  THE   PASTOR  AND   TEACHER  TRAIXIX(.. 

Although  the  number  is  rapidly  decreas- 
ing, many  teachers  are  still  ignorant  of 
these  facts;  while  others,  who  have  been 
instructed  concerning  them,  will  not  ad- 
mit their  truth.  The  pastor  who  knows 
them  and  insists  on  their  value  will  have 
great  influence  with  his  teachers,  and  will 
be  doing  much  for  his  school  if  he  will  set 
himself  patiently  to  work  to  get  those  who 
instruct  adolescents  to  receive  and  practice 
them. 

4.  The  Adults,  One  of  the  criticisms 
against  Christianity  advanced  by  many 
in  these  days  is  that  its  teachings  are  im- 
practicable; that  it  deals  with  the  other 
world  to  the  exclusion  of  the  afTairs  of  this 
one.  Good  men  have  absented  themselves 
from  the  Bible  school  for  the  reason,  they 
said,  that  they  received  nothing  there  to 
help  them  in  their  daily  life.  How  much 
truth  there  is  in  these  strictures  it  is  im- 
possible to  decide.  One  fact,  however, 
needs  renewed  and  repeated  emphasis, 
namely,  there  is  no  book,  no  literature  in 
the  world  that  contains  so  much  that  is 
applicable  to  everyday  life  as  does  the  old 
Book.     Perhaps   the   fault   has   been   with 


THK    PASTOR   AND    BIBLK    STUDY.  67 

the  teachers  of  adult  classes.  Perhaps  fur- 
ther back  has  been  the  fact  that  the  pastor 
has  not  interested  himself  to  any  great  ex- 
tent in  the  endeavor  to  help  the  instructors 
of  men  and  women  in  their  great  work  of 
preparing  to  teach  tlie  Word. 

\^ery  much  has  been  done  to  enable  the 
teachers  of  Primaries  to  bring  the  truths 
of  the  Bible  to  influence  the  lives  of  little 
children.  The  teacher  in  a  Junior  Depart- 
ment will  soon  be  able  to  get  all  the  infor- 
mation that  she  can  assimilate,  along  the 
line  of  suggestions  for  teaching  her  boys 
and  girls.  How  may  we  interest  the  big 
boy  and  the  big  girl  in  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures?  is  a  question  that  is  being  an- 
swered by  many  and  in  varied  ways.  Now 
comes  the  thought  of  adequate  instruction 
of  the  adults  of  the  congregation.  The 
principle  to  be  borne  in  mind  in  this  con- 
nection is — The  truth  should  he  made  appli- 
cable to  everyday  life.  While  this  principle 
is  easily  uttered,  there  is  much  that  it  pre- 
supposes. The  teacher  of  adults  should 
know  their  life;  their  sorrows,  their  sufl'er- 
ings  and  their  sins  on  the  one  hand;  their 
hopes,    their  ambitions,    their  longings  on 


6S  THE   PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

the  other  hand.  He  should  make  it  his 
constant  endeavor  to  bring  the  truths  of 
the  Word  of  God  to  bear  on  the  Hvcs  of 
those  whom  he  is  leading  in  study.  This 
will  make  him  a  fellow-student  with  his 
pupils  as  well  as  a  careful  student  of  them 
and  their  surroundings.  He  will  enter 
sympathetically  into  all  that  concerns  them. 
He  will  not  dogmatize,  nor  teach  from  the 
standpoint  of  his  own  experience  or  attain- 
ments. 

Where  are  we  to  get  such  teachers?  the 
pastor  exclaims.  They  are  to  be  had. 
There  are  already  very  many  such  in  our 
Bible  schools.  The  best-known  business 
man  in  the  city  whence  I  come  teaches 
thus  every  Sunday  a  large  class  of  adults. 
There  are  many  such  to  be  had  in  our  con- 
gregations to-day,  men  and  women  who 
remain  out  of  the  Bible  school  because  they 
look  upon  it  as  a  rather  small  institution, 
not  worthy  of  the  very  best  efforts  of  strong 
men  and  women. 

Here  is  the  golden  opportunity  for  the 
pastor.  First,  let  him  be  impressed  to  the 
very  center  of  his  being  with  the  impor- 
tance of  Bible-school  work.     Then,  let  him 


THE  PASTOR  AND  BIBLE   STUDY.  69 

realize  that  the  Bible  may  be  made  a  prac- 
tical, everyday  book,  whose  truths  may 
be  applied  to  the  smallest  as  well  as  the 
greatest  affairs  of  life.  Finally,  let  him 
set  himself  to  convincing  some  of  the  biggest 
and  noblest  members  of  his  congregation 
that  they  cannot  fmd  anywhere  a  work 
better  or  more  helpful  to  humanity  than 
that  of  leading  men  and  women  in  the  study 
of  the  Bible.  Such  leadership  must  have 
back  of  it  another  kind  of  leadership,  that 
of  the  pastor.  Here  is  a  work  worthy  of 
the  best  efforts  of  the  best  men  in  this 
seminary — to  be  the  leaders  of  those  who 
are  to  lead  the  instructors  of  the  adults 
.  of  the  congregation. 

* '  But  such  leaders  are  born,  not  made ; 
how  can  you  expect  to  fmd  them  for  Bible- 
school  work?"  This  statement  is  no  less 
a  fallacy  because  it  is  heard  so  frequently. 
Leaders  are  not  born;  they  are  made. 
In  very  rare  cases  there  is  a  born  leader, 
and  he  soon  takes  his  proper  position  in 
the  sphere  in  which  he  is  fitted  to  lead; 
but  where  one  leader  is  born,  a  thousand 
leaders  are  developed.  In  business,  in  pol- 
itics,   in    the    professions,    in    warfare,    in 


70  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER  TRAINING. 

diplomacy,  everywhere,  except  in  the  Bible 
school,  leaders  are  trained  for  their  leader- 
sliip.  For  what  do  West  Point  and  Annap- 
olis stand?  "V^Hiere  did  our  great  Secretary 
of  State  receive  his  training?  To-day  there 
is  working  as  a  clerk  in  a  small  railway 
station  the  son  of  one  of  the  w^ealthiest 
bankers  of  New^  York  City.  Why?  He 
expects  to  be  a  great  leader  in  the  railroad 
world,  and  is  preparing  himself  for  that 
leadership  by  mastering  the  details  of  the 
the  business. 

One  aim  of  this  course  of  lectures,  in 
common  wdth  much  that  you  receive  in 
this  seminary,  is  to  start  you  on  that  course 
of  thinking,  praying,  studying,  experiment- 
ing which  will  result,  not  in  one  nor  tw^o 
years,  but  in  time,  in  your  being  prepared 
for  just  such  leadership  as  we  are  now 
considering,  as  w^ell  as  for  leadership  in 
other  lines  of  Bible-school  effort.  Pastors 
lead  in  other  departments  of  church  work, 
why  should  they  not  lead  in  that  which 
is  coming  to  be  recognized  as  the  most 
important  of  all  the  departments,  the  Bible 
school  ? 


THE   PASTOR  AND   BIBLE   STUDY.  7 1 

V.  From  the  standpoint  of  easier  work  by 
the  teacher.  In  all  our  discussions  of  this 
matter  of  Bible  study,  it  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  a  body  of  workers  more  loyal 
or  more  faithful  than  our  Bible-school 
teachers  cannot  be  found  anywhere.  Many 
of  them  study  diligently  and  work  hard  in 
the  preparation  and  presentation  of  the 
truth.  The  pastor  must  give  due  credit 
for  this,  while  he  realizes  that  much  of  the 
study  and  labor  is  misdirected.  His  aim 
should  be,  not  to  discourage  his  workers  by 
putting  upon  them  more  than  they  are 
able  to  bear  but  to  encourage  them  by 
indicating  how  their  study  and  their  labor 
may  be  more  productive  of  results.  To  do 
this  requires  thoughtful,  prayerful  prepara- 
tion on  his  part.  In  no  department  of 
effort  more  than  in  that  of  Bible  study  is 
there  danger  of  "the  blind  leading  the 
blind." 

I.  The  pastor  who  enables  his  teachers 
to  understand  that  what  is  needed  is  better 
Bible  study  rather  than  more  Bible  study, 
and  that  his  efforts  are  directed  to  the  en- 
deavor to  save  their  time,  wall  be  treated 
by  them  as  a  benefactor.     To  do  this,  lie 


THE   PASTOR  AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 


will  pursue  in  a  large  degree  the  plans 
adopted  for  himself  in  sermonizing.  Who 
is  master  of  himself  and  his  audience  during 
the  delivery  of  the  sermon?  Is  it  not  the 
preacher  who  has  a  good  outline  well  in 
mind?  Apply  this  principle  to  Bible  studv 
and  teaching.  Get  your  teachers  to  make 
and  to  use  outlines  of  those  things  which 
they  are  to  teach,  and  you  have  done  much 
toward  making  them  good  Bible  students 
so  far  as  the  lessons  to  be  taught  are  con- 
cerned. The  lecturer  has  frequently  urged 
teachers  as  follows: 


MAKE 
MEMORIZE 
PRAY  OVER 
BROOD  OVER 
PRESERVE 


MiTl 


E 


OF  EVERY  LESSON. 


Why  preser\^e  the  outlines?  That  they 
may  be  looked  at  from  time  to  time,  and 
so  studied  that  the  teacher  may  vary  his 
methods  of  presenting  the  truth.  There 
are  few  things  that  make  Bible  study 
more  imattractive  to  the  young  than  same- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  instructor.     There 


THE   PASTOR  AND   BIBLE   STUDY.  73 

is  nothing  that  makes  the  work  of  prepara- 
tion more  difficult  than  the  uncertainty 
as  to  just  what  ought  to  be  prepared  and 
taught.  The  systematic  habit  of  preview- 
ing the  lessons,  followed  by  the  outlining 
of  each  lesson  as  suggested  in  the  foregoing, 
will  accomplish  very  much  in  making  the 
teacher's  task  lighter  and  his  work  more 
enjoyable. 

2.  The  pastor  who  inspires  his  teachers 
to  get  a  background  of  biblical  knowledge, 
into  which  every  lesson  selection  will  fit, 
and  upon  which  isolated  texts  or  portions 
of  vScripture  may  be  placed,  will  be  giving 
his  teachers  a  foundation  upon  which  they 
may  build  with  certainty.  Imagine  a  teach- 
er of  arithmetic  who  has  not  memorized 
the  multiplication  table.  What  drudgery 
would  be  his  in  being  compelled  to  look 
at  the  table  every  time  he  wished  to  be 
certain  concerning  his  multiplying!  This 
is  exactly  analogous  to  the  case  of  many 
Bible-school  teachers.  Fundamentals  have 
not  been  mastered,  details  therefore  are 
always  confusing  and  embarraSvSing.  To 
give  the  teacher  confidence  and  ease  the 
pastor  can  do  nothing  better  than  to  outline 


74  THE  PASTOR  AND  TEJACHER  TRAINING. 

a  very  simple  scheme  of  Bible  study  for  his 
teachers,  and  lead  them  through  it  either 
from  the  pulpit,  in  teachers'  meeting,  or  in 
some  other  way  best  suited  to  local  con- 
ditions. For  the  lecturer  to  outline  a 
course  of  study  would  be  to  defeat  his  pur- 
pose, which  is  to  so  influence  his  hearers  that 
they  will  work  out  for  themselves  a  course 
which,  because  of  their  mastery  of  it,  they 
can  with  enthusiasm  and  ability  suggest 
to  their  teachers. 

Years  ago  there  was  in  the  city  of  New 
York  a  professor  in  a  law  school  who  gave 
a  course  of  instruction  which  was  productive 
of  marked  results.  At  first  he  presented 
a  very  simple  outline  of  his  whole  subject. 
At  this  the  students  would  smile  and  won- 
der where  the  profundity  of  law  came  in. 
The  professor,  however,  insisted  on  their 
mastering  what  he  had  given.  Next  he 
would  offer  another  outline  of  the  same 
subject,  continuing  the  points  of  the  first 
outline  with  a  few  additional  ones.  These 
he  insisted  should  be  learned.  A  third  out- 
line containing  exactly  the  points  given  in 
the  preceding  outlines  with  some  others 
added    in    their   proper   places   was   given. 


THE   PASTOR  AND  BIBLE  STUDY.  75 

This,  too,  must  be  memorized  before  any- 
thing new  was  attempted.  Long  before 
this  the  students  had  begun  to  appreciate 
the  wisdom  of  their  instructor's  method, 
and  to  study  so  as  to  become  absolute 
masters  of  what  he  gave  them.  They  were 
ready  for  the  fourth  outline,  which  con- 
tained all  the  points  of  the  preceding  three 
outHnes,  but  in  addition  thereto  many 
things  essential  to  the  lawyer's  knowledge 
of  his  subject.  The  students  were  now 
prepared  to  meet  and  to  master  all  the 
niceties  and  subtleties  of  law.  There  was 
nothing  given  to  them  in  the  way  of  a 
problem,  nothing  that  they  would  meet  in 
actual  practice,  that  could  not  be  referred 
to  its  proper  place  in  their  outlines.  The 
most  complicated  cases  could  be  resolved 
to  first  principles. 

How  unlike  this  is  our  method  of  pre- 
paring for  the  great  w^ork  of  instructing 
others  in  the  truths  of  the  Book  which 
touches  history,  society  and  the  individual 
life  at  every  point !  Can  we  not  take  a  hint 
from  the  method  of  the  great  lawyer,  and 
give  our  teachers  a  background  of  Biblical 
knowledge    which    they    may    increase    in- 


76  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

definitely,  and  to  which  they  may  refer 
every  new  point  presented  in  any  way  to 
their  attention? 

With  whom,  when,  where  shall  the  pastor 
begin?  With  himself,  to-day,  in  his  study. 
Let  him  begin  to  get  for  himself  what  he 
wishes  his  teachers  to  have.  Doing  this 
he  will  be  prepared  to  lead  his  teachers 
in  Bible  study.  The  end  will  not  come 
to-day  nor  to-morrow.  He  may  go  on 
throughout  his  lifetime  adding,  for  himself 
and  for  his  teachers,  to  that  v/hich  he  now 
begins.  Only  let  there  be  the  beginning, 
and  let  the  beginning,  no  matter  how  small, 
be  correct  and  so  constructed  that  it  is 
capable   of  almost   indefinite   expansion. 

Young  gentlemen,  concerning  this  most 
vital  matter  of  Bible  study,  you  must  get 
away  from  that  hinderer  of  all  true  progress, 
INDEFINITENESS.  Definitely  determine 
something  that  you  will  do  for  yourself  and 
your  teachers,  and  then 


P 


RAY 
LAN 
REACH 
RACTICE 


THE    PASTOK    AM>    HUMANITY 


LECTURE  III. 

THE     PASTOR     LEADING     HIS     TEACHERS      IN 
THE  STUDY    OF  THEIR    PT'PILS. 

There  are  three  great  books  which  every 
pastor  and  every  Bible-school  teacher  should 
study  for  at  least  two  definite  purposes, 
namely,  for  fitting  themselves  to  bring 
souls  to  Christ  and  to  buiid  up  souls  in 
Christ.     These  books  are: 

I.  The  Bible,  There  are  those  who  fear 
that  the  study  of  God's  boys  and  girls  and 
the  study  of  how  to  teach  his  boys  and 
girls  will  some  how  decrease  reverence  for, 
and  interest  in,  the  written  Word.  Such 
fear  is  groundless.  What  is  pleaded  for  in 
these  lectures  is  not  less  study  of  the  Bible 
but  more  study  of  those  for  whom  the  Book 
is  intended.  For  centuries  the  Scriptures 
have  been  examined  from  every  conceivable 
standpoint,  while  the  consideration  of  hu- 
manity has  been  overlooked  by  all  but  a 
very    few.     To-day    the    attempt   is   being 


J^^  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

made  to  apply  the  corrective.  Preachers 
and  teachers  are  urged  to  devote  time  and 
thought  to  the  soil  into  which  the  seed  is  to 
be  put,  without  at  all  neglecting  the  seed. 
The  only  possible  place  for  any  conflict  be- 
tween a  real  psychology-  and  a  true  peda- 
agogy  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Bible  on 
the  other  hand,  is  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  forget  that  he  who  gave  us  the  Bible 
also  made  the  minds  of  those  who  are  to 
study  it.  Is  it  not  a  blessed  thought  that 
as  we  study  the  Book  we  may  also  learn 
to  know  the  mind  for  which  it  was  intended? 
2.  Nature.  The  Book  of  Nature  should 
not  be  closed  to  him  whose  chief  work  is 
to  get  others  acquainted  with  the  God  of 
Nature.  On  the  one  hand,  as  Addison  has 
so  beautifully  sung,  God  reveals  himself 
in  the  heavens. 

The  spacious  tiniianient  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue,  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim. 

In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice; 
Forever  singing,  as  they  shine, 
"The  hand  that  made  us  is  Divine." 


THE    PASTOR    AXU    HUMANITY.  79 

On  the  other  hand,  that  part  of  nature 
which  Hes  all  about  us,  even  at  our  very 
feet,  reveals  God.  Said  a  devout  scientist : 
"Every  blade  of  grass  that  I  see  speaks  to 
me  of  God."  The  teachers  of  the  Primary 
Department  are  appreciating  what  an  ally 
nature  is  to  them  in  teaching  the  little  ones 
to  know^  the  God  of  nature.  Those  who  are 
striving  to  lead  others  than  Primary  chil- 
dren to  know  and  obey  God  may  obtain 
substantial  help  from  the  study  of  nature. 
It  is  not,  however,  within  the  scope  of  these 
lectures  to  do  more  than  allude  to  these 
facts.  Recall  how  well  acquainted  our 
Savior  w^as  with  the  Book  of  Nature,  and 
how  incessantly  he  made  use  of  his  knowl- 
edge thereof.  In  this  respect,  as  in  so 
many  others,  the  Great  Teacher  has  set 
us  an  example  that  we  will  do  well  to 
follow. 

3.  Human  Nature.  This  is  a  great  book, 
in  many  volumes,  worthy  of  the  best  efforts 
of  the  greatest  minds  of  our  day.  In  these 
lectures  some  things  are  to  be  suggested 
that  it  is  hoped  will  be  practical  and  stim- 
ulating to  the  pastor  who  wishes  to  help 
his  teachers  to  do  the  very  best  work  for 


8o  THE   PASTOR   AND  TEACHER   TRAINING. 

humanity  and  for  the  kingdom  of  him  who 
loved  mankind  so  much  that  he  took  upon 
himself  a  human  body. 

To  show  how  little  equipment  is  really 
needed  in  order  to  begin  this  study,  the 
lecturer  ventures  to  tell  how  he  was  started 
in  his  studies  of  human  nature.  By  so 
doing  he  may  encourage  others  to  begin. 

It  was  just  after  the  close  of  the  session 
of  the  Bible  school  that  a  teacher  came 
to 'speak  to  the  superintendent  who  had 
stepped  down  from  the  platform.  Taking 
his  hand  in  hers  she  smiled  and  said:  **I 
am  the  mother  of  seven  children,  and  I 
could  treat  no  two  of  my  children  alike." 
Giving  the  superintendent's  hand  a  gentle 
pressure,  she  smiled  again,  turned  and 
walked   away   without   another  word. 

She  has  gone  home  to  her  reward;  she 
never  learned  while  on  earth  the  effect  of 
her  words,  nor  hass  the  superintendent  ever 
come  to  know  what  blunder  he  had  m.ade 
to  call  forth  the  gentle  rebuke.  That  he 
had  been  blundering  he  had  no  doubt. 
After  the  little  woman  had  left  him,  he 
stood  thinking  somewhat  on  these  lines: 
"vSeven   children,    and   she   could   treat   no 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HI  MANITV.  8 1 

two  of  them  exactly  alike.  What  then  am 
I  to  do  with  the  eight  hundred  persons  w^ho 
are  members  of  this  school?  Lord,  help 
me  to  learn  how  to  avoid  making  mis- 
takes." 

That  was  the  starting  point.  From  that 
day  to  this  the  superintendent  has  never 
ceased  to  study  people,  especially  boys, 
not  to  find  defects  and  flaws,  but  in  order 
to  learn  how  they  may  be  approached  with 
the  Word  of  God  and  with  the  offer  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  All-in-all.  In  this  lecture 
time  will  permit  only  the  suggesting  of 
some  answers  to  three  general  questions, 
that  may  encourage  pastors  to  lead  teachers 
in  the  study  of  their  pupils. 

I.  Why  should  the  pastor  lead  his  teachers 
in  the  study  of  his  pupils  ?  Or,  to  express  it  in 
another  way,  Why  should  the  pastor  lead 
his  teachers  in  the  study  of  human  nature? 

The  three-fold  answxr  may  be:  Because 

I.  Human  nature  is  a  most  fascinating 
study.  The  Greek  philosophers  said, 
* '  Know  thyself. ' '  Long  ago  it  was  declared, 
**The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man." 
vSpurgeon,  the  greatest  preacher  and  the 
most  successful  soul-winner  of  the  last 
6 


82  THE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER    TRAINING. 

century,  was  an  incessant  student  of  human 
nature,  which  is  but  a  homely  way  of  say- 
ing that  he  studied  paidology,  ephebics  and 
the  other  high-sounding  divivsions  of  human 
nature  of  the  present  time.  Great  preach- 
ers Hke  Parker  and  Berry  have  insisted  on 
the  fascination  in  the  study  of  those  who 
are  to  be  reached  by  the  Gospel  stor}\ 
This  is  no  less  interesting  than  the  study  of 
that  story  itself.  What  was  begun  by  many 
successful  preachers  as  a  matter  of  duty 
has  been  continued  through  pure  love  for 
the  study. 

2.  It  is  a  profitable  study.  There  is  noth- 
ing that  will  yield  the  true  student  such 
large  dividends  as  those  obtained  from  the 
study  of  people.  To-day  men,  for  the  sake 
of  profit,  are  engaged  in  the  study  of  poul- 
try, horses,  cows  and  many  other  animals. 
It  is  money  in  a  man's  pocket  to  under- 
stand, for  example,  the  nature  or  the  habits 
of  sheep.  There  are  some  things  much 
better  than  money;  many  of  these  will 
come  as  results  of  the  study  of  boys  and 
girls,  men  and  women.  This  study  should 
be  deliberately  persisted  in  because  of  the 
results    that    will    come    to    the    student. 


THE    PASTOR    AM)    HTMANITV.  83 

Then,  of  course,  there  will  be  rich  fruitage 
as  the  result  of  applying  in  the  Bible  school 
what  has  been  learned. 

3.  It  is  a  broadening  study.  She  is  a 
woman  of  culture.  vShe  has  spent  large 
sums  of  money  on  apparatus  and  books. 
For  what  purpose?  To  study  the  animal- 
culse  that  are  found  in  stagnant  w^ater. 
What  she  does  not  know^  about  those  tiny 
creatures  is  not  w^orth  knowdng.  Why  is 
she  engaged  in  this  study?  Because  it 
helps  to  give  her  breadth  of  mind.  She  has 
two  sons,  one  sixteen,  the  other  nineteen. 
What  she  does  not  know  about  her  boys 
would  fill  a  good-sized  volume.  Not  only 
would  it  be  of  advantage  to  her  and  her 
boys  if  she  w^ere  to  study  them,  but  the 
results  of  that  study  would  be  much  more 
broadening  than  those  which  come  from 
studying  animalculse.  The  study  of  hu- 
man nature  merely  for  culture,  for  breadth 
of  mind,  is  w^ell  worthy  the  serious  con- 
sideration of  all  w^ho  are  striving  for  culture 
and  broadening. 

11.  What  will  be  the  results  of  the  pastor  lead- 
ing his  teachers  in  the  study  of  human  nature  ? 
They  will  be  many  as  regards  the  student 


Sj  'J'HE    PASTOR    AND   TKACHER   TRAINING. 

himself,  as  regards  those  with  whom  he 
labors,  as  regards  those  for  whom  he  labors. 
It  is  wdth  this  last  class  of  persons  that  we 
are  concerned  here.  A  verv^  few  results 
are  suggested: 

I .  For  the  teacJicr  of  Primaries.  The  pas- 
tor who  studies  boys  and  girls  will  be  en- 
gaged in  his  investigations  but  a  very 
short  time  before  he  comes  to  conclusions 
that  will  be  of  immense  value  to  himself, 
to  the  parents  in  his  congregation,  and  es- 
pecially to  the  Primary  class  teacher. 

He  w^as  about  four  years  old.  His  head 
was  adorned  with  curls,  but  the  time  had 
come  for  them  to  be  sacrificed.  One  day 
his  mother  told  the  little  fellow  that  during 
the  afternoon  he  was  to  go  with  his  father 
to  the  barber  to  have  his  curls  cut  off. 

The  boy  refused  absolutely  to  consent 
to  go  to  the  barber's  shop,  and  so  strenuous 
was  his  refusal  that  the  matter  was  dropped 
for  the  present,  with  the  thought  that  his 
attitude  was  but  a  childish  whim. 

vSome  time  afterwards  his  mother  in- 
formed him  that  father  would  take  him  to 
have  his  curls  cut  off.  Again  there  was  a 
refusal    so    obstinate    that    nothing    could 


THIJ    PASTOR   AND    HUMANITY.  85 

change  the  boy's  determination  not  to  go 
to  the  barber. 

Father  and  mother  consulted  and  laid 
their  plans,  which  were  to  insist  on  the 
boy  going  to  the  barber's  shop  or  else  to 
get  him  to  give  a  reason  for  his  refusal  to 
do  so.  Accordingly,  one  day  w^hen  CA'ery- 
thing  was  pleasant  and  he  was  playing  about 
the  house,  the  subject  of  curl-cutting  was 
broached.  It  instantly  aroused  in  the  child 
the  opposition  that  had  been  so  apparent 
on  the  previous  occasions.  His  mother 
said,  "All  right;  if  you  do  not  want  to  go 
to  the  barber's  shop  you  must  tell  me  why 
you  do  not  wish  to  go." 

"If  I  go  they'll  cut  all  my  hair  off." 

"O,  no,  they  will  not." 

But  he  insisted  that  they  would  until 
his  mother  concluded  that  he  had  some 
reason  for  taking  the  position  which  he  did, 
so  she  said,  "Tell  me  why  you  think  they 
will  cut  your  hair  oft'?" 

Stopping  in  his  play,  the  little  fellow 
pointed  his  finger  at  his  mother  and  with 
the  earnestness  of  conviction  said:  "You 
look  at  my  Uncle  Al;  he's  been  to  the 
barber  shop." 


86  TH^   PASTOR   AND   TKACHER   TRAINING. 

Then  the  facts  were  understood.  At 
some  time  Uncle  Al  had  visited  his  sister. 
Some  one  had  said,  '*A1,  you've  been  to 
the  barber's  shop!"  The  nephew,  hearing 
the  statement  and  looking  at  the  bald  head 
of  his  uncle,  had  concluded  that  barbers 
make  people  bald-headed.  He  did  not  wish 
to  be  a  bald-headed  boy  of  four.  Would 
you?  He  concluded  that  he  would  not  go 
to  the  barber's  shop.     Can  you  blame  him^? 

His  parents  learned  that  the  child  was 
beginning  to  reason,  and  they  were  glad 
that  they  had  not  punished  him  for  stand- 
ing by  the  results  of  his  reasoning. 

A  pastor  who  studies  little  people  will 
learn  that  they  reason,  that  their  conclu- 
sions are  often  based  on  false  premises  or 
on  insufficient  data.  He  will  conclude  that 
his  chief  business  is  to  give  the  children 
facts  so  that  both  in  the  present  and  in 
days  to  come  they  will  not  form  wrong 
conclusions  concerning  the  truths  that 
ought  to  dominate  their  Uyqs  here  and  pre- 
pare them  for  their  life  hereafter.  Leading 
his  Primary  teacher  to  appreciate  that  her 
pupils  are  constantly  reasoning,  he  will 
help  her  to  avoid  the  injustice  that  charac- 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  87 

terizes  the  treatment  of  young  children  by 
many  grown  persons,  who  insist  upon  literal 
and  absolute  obedience  without  first  ex- 
plaining why  there  should  be  such  obedi- 
ence. Moreover,  the  teacher  who  is  led 
to  recognize  the  strength  of  the  reasoning 
power  of  a  child  w  will  be  very  careful  as  to 
the  information  which  she  gives  her  pupils 
and  upon  which  their  conclusions  will  be 
based.  Her  methods  of  study  and  of  in- 
struction will  be  radically  different  from 
those  of  the  teacher  who  thinks,  if  she  does 
not  say,  concerning  her  pupils,  "O,  they 
are  only  little  children.  Anything  is  good 
enough  for  them."  Much  has  been  said 
about  children's  rights;  they  are  now  being 
recognized  and  respected  as  one  of  the 
results  of  child  study. 

Other  characteristics  of  early  childhood, 
such  as  imitation,  imagination  and  curiosity, 
which  we  will  consider  in  our  next  lecture 
as  being  valuable  from  the  pedagogical 
standpoint,  will  be  recognized  by  the  pastor- 
student  of  child  nature,  and  will  be  made 
allies  in  the  impartation  of  the  truths  of 
the  Word  whether  presented  by  pastor  or 
teacher. 


88  TH^   PASTOR  AND   Tl^ACHER  TR^UNING. 

The  delight  that  he  will  experience  as 
he  notes  the  results  of  the  intelhgent  appli- 
cation of  the  studies  of  himself  and  his  Pri- 
mary teachers  will  stimulate  the  pastor  to 
make  experiments  concerning  other  traits 
of  childhood,  such  as  activity,  affection, 
sensitiveness  and  reverence.  By  degrees 
changes  in  methods  of  discipline  Avill  be  in- 
troduced to  the  great  comfort  of  all  con- 
cerned. 

By  this  time  he  will  probaljly  be  interested 
in  the  plays  of  children,  and  lie  will 
soon  discover  that  an  acquaintance  with 
the  psychology  of  pla}^  will  be  of  great 
pedagogical  value  not  only  in  the  training 
of  children  in  the  Primarv'  class  but  also 
in  their  development  in  many  other  places. 

2.  For  the  teachers  of  Juniors.  The  pastor 
that  studies  his  pupils  who  are  between 
nine  and  twelve  years  of  age  will  have  con- 
victions that  ought  to  be  of  the  greatest 
advantage  to  him  and  to  his  Bible-school 
teachers.  Among  other  things,  concern- 
ing the  pupils  of  the  so-called  Junior  De- 
partment, he  will  conclude : 

(a)  Juniors  form  a  most  important  part 
not  onlv  of  the  Bible  school  but  also  of  the 


THE   PASTOR  AND   HUMANITY.  89 

congregation.  Until  recent  years  but  little 
attention  was  paid  to  them  from  scientific 
standpoints.  Now  they  arc  beginning  to 
enjoy  the  results  of  careful  study  by  special- 
ists. 

(b)  The  knowledge  obtained  in  the  study 
of  the  Primary  pupils  must  be  added  to 
if  Junior  bo3^s  and  girls  are  to  be  dealt 
with  in  an  adequate  manner.  Thc}^  arc 
still  children,  but  children  quite  diiTerent 
from   those   in    the    Primary    Department. 

(c)  Junior  pupils  have  some  character- 
istics in  common  with  the  members  of  the 
Primary  Department.  A  knov/lcdge  not 
only  of  these  traits  but  of  how  they  may 
be  made  of  pedagogical  value  is  most  im- 
portant. -Such  for  example  are  the  charac- 
teristics of 

ACTIVITY 
CURIOSITY 
IMITATION 
THE  PLAY  INvSTINCT 

(d)  Junior  pupils  differ  from  both  the 
Primary  and  the  Adolescent  in  literalness. 
A  knowledge  of  this  single  characteristic 
rightly  applied  \\dll  be  of  great  benefit  to 
the  home,  the  church  and  the  Bible  school. 


90 


the:  pastor  and  teacher  training. 


(e)  ^Junior   pupils   are  now  distinctively 
in  the 


READING 

RECEPTIVE 

MEMORY 

LITERAL 

SUBMISSIVE 

FRUITFUL 

LEAKAGE 


PE 


il 


(/)  The  results  of  this  study  intelligently 
applied  will  bring  about  changes  in  our 
Bible-school  work  which  will  be  to  the  ad- 
vantage not  only  of  the  boys  and  the  girls 
who  are  of  the  Junior  age,  but  which  will 
also  help  greatly  in  the  strengthening  of 
the  church  of  to-morrow  and  in  the  progress 
of  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Master. 

Imagine  the  power  exerted,  not  only  for 
the  local  Bible  school  but  for  the  Kingdom 
at  large,  by  the  pastor  who  knows  these 
things  and  who  will  lead  his  teachers  in 
becoming  acquainted  with  them,  and  in 
prayerfully  applying  the  results  of  study 
for  the  sake  of  the  Master,  who  does  so 
much  for  them  and  for  those  whom  they 
are  endeavoring  to  train  to  be  his  sincere 
disciples. 


"For  an  extended  study  of  these  pupils  see  "After  tho 
Primary,  What  ?  " 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  91 

3.  For  the  teacher  of  Adolescents.  I  re- 
member the  first  formal  lecture  that  I  ever 
delivered  on  the  subject  of  adolescence. 
It  was  given  on  the  invitation  of  a  friend, 
who  was  president  of  a  county  association. 
He  wished  me  to  speak  to  the  workers  of 
his  county  on  some  phases  of  the  subject 
which  were  not  such  common  property  as 
they  are  now.  Accordingly,  I  prepared 
myself  so  that  when  I  faced  my  audience  I 
had  the  consciousness  that  I  knew  what  T 
was  going  to  talk  about  and  that  what  I 
intended  to  say  was  true. 

My  friend,  the  pastor,  took  a  seat  directly 
in  front  of  me.  When  I  began  to  talk  he 
was  looking  me  in  the  eye.  After  a  little 
time  his  head  drooped,  and  before  I  had 
gotten  half  through  my  talk  his  head  was 
down  and  his  face  was  covered  with  his 
hands.  He  gave  every  indication  of  being 
displeased  with  what  I  was  saying.  Fired 
with  the  thought  that  I  was  doing  the  right 
thing,  I  redoubled  my  efforts  to  arouse  and 
interest  him,  but  without  avail.  That  head 
was  lowered,  and  those  eyes  that  I  so  much 
desired  to  see  approving  my  words  were 
covered. 


92        the;  pastor  and  tkachrr  training. 

At  the  close  of  that  session  of  the  con- 
vention I  went  toward  my  friend,  expect- 
ing to  demand  an  explanation  of  his  con- 
duct, but  before  I  could  say  a  word,  he  ex- 
claimed, "I  am  going  home  to  talk  to  the 
members  of  my  session."  The  explanation 
that  followed  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
"session"  were  considering  the  advisability 
of  excommunicating  some  boys,  who  at 
one  time  had  seemed  to  be  converted  but 
who  had  suddenly  become  so  outrageous  in 
their  conduct  that  it  was  thought  thc}- 
should  be  excluded  from  church  m^ember- 
ship.  The  pastor  had  grasped  some  basal 
principles,  and  intended  to  return  home 
to  tell  his  church  officers  how  to  deal  with 
the  disorderly  young  adolescents. 

The  pastor  who  attempts  the  study  of 
adolescence  will  be  utterly  bewildered  at 
first  because  of  the  multiplicity  of  things 
that  are  being  said  and  written  on  this 
subject,  and  because  of  the  various  stand- 
points of  lecturers  and  writers  thereon. 
He  should  not  be  discouraged,  but,  begin- 
ning somew^here,  he  should  go  on  to  separate 
from    the    great    mass    of   material    offered 


THE   PASTOR   AND    IIUMANITV.  93 

those  things  which  will  help  him  to  lead 
his  Bible-school  teachers  in  their  study. 

One  foundation  stone  upon  w^hich  he 
may  do  some  good  building  is  the  statement 
so  often  made,  namely,  ''The  young  ado- 
lescent is  a  bundle  of  self-contradictions." 
When  he  grasps  that  fact  and  gets  his 
teachers  to  apprehend  it,  he  and  they  will 
not  be  surprised  by  anything  that  a  boy 
or  girl  of  the  adolescent  age  will  do.  This 
will  help  them  to  keep  their  equilibrium 
at  all  times. 

vSome  of  the  distinguishing  traits  of  early 
adolescence  are  self-consciousness;  day 
dreaming;  the  beginnings  of  motives  such 
as  ambition,  philanthropy,  pride,  courage ; 
the  beginnings  of  emotions,  which  fmd  ex- 
pression in  various  ways;  the  stirrings  of 
doubt;  the  awakening  of  a  kind  of  love 
difTcrent  from  that  of  the  child;  and  the 
appearance  of  atavism.  The  pastor  who 
not  merely  knows  about  these  traits,  but 
who  is  able  to  recognize  them  in  the  young 
people  and  to  advise  his  teachers  as  to  what 
may  be  done  under  certain  circumstances, 
has  gone  a  long  way  toward  solving  two 
perplexing    problems,    namely.    How    shall 


94  'i'HE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

we  hold  our  young  people  in  the  Bible 
school?  How  shall  w^e  find  teachers  for 
our  young  people?  Many  of  our  adolescents 
leave  the  Bible  school  because  they  are  not 
understood  there.  Many  good  persons  re- 
fuse to  teach  because  they  do  not  know 
how  to  deal  with  adolescents.  In  both 
directions  the  pastor  w^ho  is  informed  as 
w^ell  as  consecrated  may  be  very  helpful. 
As  this  subject  is  such  a  broad  one,  with 
so  many  ramifications,  perhaps  a  concrete 
illustration  or  two  of  what  is  possible  for 
a  pastor  may  be  most  helpful.  We  will 
suppose  that  he  has  made  a  study,  say,  to 
begin  with,  of  day  dreams.  He  gathers 
his  teachers  and  officers  together  and  reads 
them  an  essay,  or  better  still,  delivers 
them  a  lecture  on  the  subject.  Here  is 
a  specimen  of  what  might  be  given: 

Mr.  Brow^n  and  His  Class 

(A  Study  in  Day  Dreams) 

*'Will  Brown  as  a  boy  was  very  trouble- 
some, and  somewhat  inclined  to  be  wild," 
says  his  mother,  with  that  charity  that 
covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  Many  an  earnest 
prayer  did  she  offer  for,  and  many  a  bitter 


THE    PASTOR    AND    IIl-MAXIT\  .  ()5 

tear  did  she  shed  because  of,  her  boy. 
The  superintendent  of  the  Bible  school 
was  obliged  more  than  once  to  face  the 
question:  **Shall  we  allow  Will  Brown  to  re- 
main in  the  school?"  because  he  seemed  to 
be  the  ring-leader  in  most  of  the  disorder 
in  his  class. 

But  that  is  all  past  now.  Mr.  Brown, 
who  is  forty- three,  settled  down  years  ago. 
To-day  he  is  an  eminently  respectable  and 
highly  useful  citizen,  the  soul  of  honor, 
whose  word  is  trusted  without  question, 
and  whose  life  is  held  up  before  the  minds 
of  wayward  boys  as  worthy  of  imitation. 
He  is  devoted  to  church  work,  and  believes 
so  thoroughly  in  the  mission  of  the  Bible 
school  that  for  years  he  has  been  a  pains- 
taking teacher  therein. 

Mr.  Brown's  class  consists  of  eight  boys, 
ranging  in  age  from  thirteen  to  fifteen. 
Mr.  Brown  loves  his  pupils,  prays  for  them, 
studies  hard  in  order  to  interest  them, 
but  does  not  understand  them.  His  most 
carefully  arranged  programs  for  class  work, 
and  his  most  prayerfully  prepared  lessons 
are  frequently  rendered  useless  by  imex- 
pected,  and  therefore  unprepared  for,  mani- 


96  THE    PASTOR    AND    TEACHER    TRAINING. 

festations  on  the  part  of  his  boys.  That 
duty  that  seems  to  him  to  be  so  clear,  those 
truths  that  he  realizes  should  be  accepted 
by  everybody,  are  received  by  the  boys 
with  unconcealed  indifference,  or  even  with 
open  expressions  of  contempt. 

Wherein  lies  the  difficulty?  Mr.  Brown 
overlooks  the  facts  that  are  fundamental 
in  dealing  v/ith  young  adolescents.  First: 
?Iis  boys  are  not  forty-three  years  old,  but, 
being  in  their  teens,  view  almost  every- 
thing from  standpoints  very  different  from 
his.  vSecond:  The  standpoints  of  all  the 
boys  are  not  the  same.  Each  one  is  so 
positive  that  his  point  of  view  is  the  cor- 
rect one  that  he  pays  no  attention  to  the 
positions  of  the  others.  Each  is  enraptured 
with  his  series  of  day  dreams,  so  that  all 
his  thoughts  and  actions,  if  not  his  words, 
are  influenced  by  these  day  dreams. 

Let  us  go  to  the  Bible  school  with  Mr. 
Brown,  and  look  at  his  class.  As  he  faces 
them  he  thinks  of  them  as  so  many  ordinary 
boys,  who  ought  to  be  ready  to  receive 
and  act  upon  the  teachings  which  he  has 
carefully  planned  for  them.  But  who 
really  sit  in  these  two  pews?     In  the  corner 


THE    PASTOR    AND   HUMANITY.  97 

there  is  a  boy  who  is  a  great  general.  The 
victories  won  by  Alexander,  Napoleon, 
Washington,  Lee  and  Grant  are  nothing 
in  comparison  with  the  success  that  has 
attended  him  as  the  leader  of  mighty  armies. 
To  be  sure  he  is  only  fourteen,  and  his 
conquests  are  all  in  his  mind  as  yet,  but 
oh!  how  real  they  are  to  him.  When  Mr. 
Brown  urges  him  to  strive  for  victor}^  over 
some  bad  habit  or  evil  tendency  he  smiles 
pityingly  or  even  sarcastically,  because  Mr. 
Brown  does  not  know  the  victor}^  that 
gives  such  sweetness  to  his  day  dreams. 

Next  to  him  sits  a  boy  who  is  a  great 
admiral.  The  achievements  of  Dewey,  Samp- 
son, Schley  and  Hobson  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance when  placed  beside  what  he  has  ac- 
complished. As  commander  of  the  finest 
ships  that  the  world  has  ever  yet  dreamed 
of  he  has  been  instrumental  in  putting  this 
nation  in  what  he  thinks  to  be  her  proper 
position  at  the  head  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Only  fifteen,  and  he  has  never  seen 
a  battle  ship!  That  makes  no  difference 
to  our  young  day  dreamer.  He  has  done 
these  things,  and  if  you  and  Mr.  Brown 
do   not   recognize   the   facts,    so  much  the 


98  THE  PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

worse  for  both  of  you,  he  thinks,  as  he 
goes  on  to  dream  of  still  more  wonderful 
exploits. 

That  third  boy's  name  is  on  the  roll  of 
fame,  not  only  in  his  village,  in  his  State 
and  in  the  United  States,  but  throughout 
Great  Britain  and  over  the  whole  continent 
of  Europe.  You  do  not  know  it,  but  that 
does  not  alter  the  fact  that  he  is  a  great 
surgeon,  performing  miraculous  operations 
for  the  relief  of  vSuffering  humanity.  Should 
yon  remind  him  that  the  only  instrument 
which  he  possesses  is  a  rather  dilapidated 
pen-knife,  he  faces  you  with  that  far-away 
look  in  his  e^'CS  which  indicates  how  real 
to  him  are  the  day  dreams  of  his  great- 
ness. 

On  this  side  of  the  surgeon  is  a  successful 
author.  He  has  read  of  editions  of  books 
which  have  gone  out  in  the  hundreds  of 
thousands,  but  already  of  his  great  work 
over  a  milHon  copies  have  been  sold,  and 
he  is  just  now  writing  another  story  which 
is  to  go  far  ahead  of  his  past  success.  If 
you  venture  to  remind  him  that  his  last 
high-school  composition  was  not  a  success, 
that   he   received   a  low   mark  because   of 


THK    PASTOR    AND    IIUMAXITV.  99 

misspelled  words  and  unpunctuated  phrases 
and  sentences,  he  wonders  why  you  mention 
such  trivialities  to  one  who  is  such  a  great 
writer. 

And  so  we  might  go  on  with  Mr.  Brown's 
boys.  One  is  to-day  in  his  own  imagina- 
tion the  greatest  preacher  in  America. 
Sitting  next  to  him  is  perhaps  a  great 
prize  fighter.  There  is  a  boy  that  is  a 
pirate,  and  there  one  that  is  a  great  states- 
man. Whatever  life-work  they  have  chosen 
they  excel  all  that  ever  went  before  them 
in  that  particular  line,  as  they  sit  in  Bible 
school,  dream  their  rosy  dreams,  and  form- 
ulate their  great  plans. 

Is  it  now  any  secret  why  Mr.  Brov/n  fails 
to  gain  the  attention  and  excite  the  interest 
of  these  great  personages?  How  childish 
seem  his  teachings  in  Comparison  with 
their  accomplishments!  How  common- 
place are  the  actions  to  which  he  vainly 
endeavors  to  urge  them  on  when  viewed 
in  contrast  with  their  unparalleled  achieve- 
ments ! 

Is  there  no  hope  for  Mr.  Brown  and  his 
boys?  Yes,  great  hope,  if  Mr.  Brown  is 
wise.     Must  Mr.  Brown  give  up  his  efforts 


lOO  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER    TRAIXIXO. 

to  teach,  and  must  the  boys  be  allowed  to 
go  on  unrestrained  in  their  day  dreaming? 
No!  No!  Mr.  Brown  may  use  those 
dreams  as  powerful  levers  to  uplift  the  boys, 
to  benefit  the  church,  and  to  help  in  the 
development  of  the  kingdom.  In  order 
to  accomplish  this  possibility  at  least  four 
things  are  necessary  for  Mr.  Brown: 

He  mUvST  recall  his  own  bo\tiood. 
He  has  forgotten  it.  He  has  been  uncon- 
scious of  the  fact  that  his  boys,  in  the 
main,  are  about  like  what  he  was  at  their 
age.  If  he  sits  down  occasionally,  shuts 
out  the  present  and  lives  for  a  while  in  the 
past,  he  will  be  face  to  face  with  many  for- 
gotten thoughts,  words  and  actions,  the  re- 
membrance of  which  will  help  him  wonder- 
fully in  handling  his  boys.  How  vividly 
will  come  to  him  the  recollection  of  the  time 
when  most  persons  predicted  for  him  an 
aimless  future,  w^hile  in  his  ov/n  imagina- 
tion he  was  a  great  merchant.  How  much 
of  his  success  in  the  commercial  world  had 
its  inspiration  in,  or  was  the  outgrowth 
of,  his  adolescent  day  dreams,  he  may  be 
able  to  determine  now  that  he  has  his  at- 
tention called  to  the  subject. 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  lOI 

He  must  vSTudy  his  boys.  Not  as  he 
sees  them  on  the  Lord's  day,  when  they  are 
under  restraint  because  of  their  ineffectual 
efforts  to  lay  aside  their  day  dreams  in 
order  to  conform  to  the  pattern  according 
to  which  their  thoughtless  elders  are  trying 
to  develop  them.  Just  when  and  ivhere 
and  how  these  boys  are  to  be  studied  must 
be  left  to  Mr.  Brown's  newly-quickened 
common  sense,  because  it  is  obvious  that 
no  rules  can  be  set  for  dealing  with  boys 
who  differ  so  much  from  one  another  in 
their  make-up. 

Hk  must  sympathize  with  his  boys. 
This  will  not  be  difficult  now  that  he  has 
studied  himself  and  them.  Recalling  what 
he  had  to  contend  with,  and  realizing 
somewhat  the  present  struggles  of  his  boys, 
he  will  be  able  to  feel  with  them.  Then 
what  a  difference  the- re  will  be  in  his  prayers 
for  his  boys,  in  his  methods  of  preparation 
for  the  class,  in  his  manner  of  presenting 
the  truth  and  in  the  kind  of  truths  he  se- 
lects! This  sympathy  will  lead  him  to 
treat  them  no  longer  as  practical  men  of 
forty,  but  as  day  dreamers  of  fourteen. 


I02       the;  pastor  and  teacher  traixixg. 

He:  must  treat  each  boy  as  an  indi- 
viduality. His  study  of,  and  his  sympathy 
with,  his  boys  have  prepared  him  to  do  this. 
No  longer  will  he  come  to  the  class  chafmg 
under  his  failure  to  make  the  boys  conform 
to  his  ideals,  but  his  constant  effort  will 
be  to  so  present  those  ideals  that  they 
may  appeal  to  the  personality  that  he  longs 
so  much  to  help. 

Outsiders,  as  well  as  fellow  workers,  will 
notice  the  influence  that  Mr.  Brown  is  ex- 
erting over  his  boys.  ]Many  will  be  the 
questions  as  to  the  magic  that  is  trans- 
forming the  former  indifferent  pupils  into 
attentive  students  of  the  Word.  When 
Mr.  Brown  explains  his  change  of  attitude 
toward  the  boys,  how  it  was  brought  about 
and  the  results  thereof,  some  of  his  hearers 
may  smile  incredulously,  and  some  may 
declare  that  it  w^ould  be  useless  for  them 
to  try  to  imitate  him,  but  those  who  can 
appreciate  what  he  has  done  and  can  learn 
the  necessary  lessons  will  be  as  successful 
as  he  is. 

When  Miss  White,  who  has  a  class  of 
girls  about  the  same  age  as  Mr.  Brown's 
boys,   is  impressed  w4th   the  latter's  story 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  1 03 

and  begins  to  think  of  herself  and  her  girls 
just  as  Mr.  Brown  studied  himself  and  his 
boys,  she  will  find  that,  with  minor  varia- 
tions, her  girls  are  like  the  boys.  They, 
too,  have  their  day  dreams.  One  is  dreaming 
of  the  nobleman  that  is  coming  from  Europe 
to  marry  her  preparatory  to  installing  her 
as  the  lady  of  his  castle.  Another  pictures 
herself  the  wife  of  a  millionaire,  dispensing 
hospitality  with  an  unstinted  hand.  One 
is  a  great  authoress,  another  a  famous 
philanthropist,  the  third  a  successful  re- 
former, the  fourth  the  champion  of  the 
down-trodden  of  the  earth,  and  so  on 
through  the  list.  Their  achievements  are 
as  wonderful  as  those  of  the  boys  across 
the  aisle,  although  like  theirs  they  are  all 
in  their  imagination. 

When  ]\Iiss  White  talks  to  them  as  a 
class  her  girls  now  handle  their  gloves, 
make  tumecessary  efforts  to  get  their  hats 
to  remain  in  position,  or  even  talk  about 
last  week's  party,  because  they  think  her 
talk  commonplace  for  such  wonderful  peo- 
ple; but  when  she  learns  her  lesson  of  Mr. 
Brown,  treats  her  class  as  individuals  and 
makes  use  of  their  dav  dreams  to  hcli)  her 


I04         run   PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

teach  the  lesson,  she  will  have  the  same 
success  with  her  girls  that  Mr.  Brov/n  will 
have  v/ith  his  boys. 

Surely  that  talk  on  *'day  dreams,"  fol- 
lowed by  an  interchange  of  opinion  among 
the  teachers,  should  open  up  un thought  of 
fields  of  investigation  and  should  result 
in  unmeasured  good  for  the  school! 

A  month  hence  the  pastor  gives  his 
workers  another  talk.  Here  is  a  specim.en 
of  what  he  might  say: 

Inez  and  her  Grandmother 

(A  study  of  Atavism) 

She  was  tall,  slim  and  fairly  good-looking. 
No  one  except  herself  would  give  her  face 
a  second  thought.  When  she  gazed  into 
the  mirror  to  behold  the  dazzling  beauty 
reflected  therefrom,  she  thought  it  no  won- 
der that  she  was  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes. 
She  was  so  ungainly  in  form  and  awkv/ard 
in  movement  that  a  chair  in  the  corner 
was  her  most  comfortable  retreat.  Not- 
withstanding this,  as  she  trod  the  avenue 
with  airy  step,  no  gazelle  was  ever  m.ore 
graceful,  in  her  estimation.  Kept  away 
from  school  for  long  periods  at  a  time  be- 


THE   PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  105 

cause  of  illness,  she  was  deficient  in  much 
that  is  merely  rudimentary.  She  knew, 
however,  that  the  knowledge,  wisdom  and 
culture  which  she  possessed  wTre  merely 
lying  dormant  to  be  displayed  when  the 
auspicious  time  should  arrive.  Her  irrita- 
bility was  such  that  her  nearest  and  dearest 
friends  found  it  very  diflicult  to  bear  with 
her.  She  was  positive,  however,  that  if 
she  had  her  due  she  would  be  wearing  a 
medal  for  amiability,  voted  to  her  by  the 
admiring  neighborhood.  The  reason  for 
the  great  difference  of  opinion  between  her 
and  her  friends  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
Inez  was  sweet  sixteen.  Sixteen,  you  have 
perhaps  learned,  has  spectacles  and  mirrors 
peculiar  to  itself. 

The  grandmother,  of  course,  was  old. 
vShe  has  seen  much  of  the  world  and  the 
inhabitants  thereof.  vShe  had  acquired 
funds  of  knowledge,  had  attained  to  great 
wisdom  and  had  developed  an  infallible 
judgment.  Therefore  she  knew  just  what 
what  was  right  and  her  word  must  be  law. 
So  she  thought  and  so  she  acted,  but,  oh! 
what  a  different  opinion  had  been  formed 
of  her  by  those  who  knew  her  best.     To 


I06         THE   PASTOR   AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

them  she  was  known  as  a  shallow,  foolish, 
unreasonable  creature.  It  is  no  w^ondcr 
that  there  were  constant  clashes  between 
those  who  so  differed  in  opinion,  with  the 
result  that  the  old  lady  became  deeph' 
rooted  in  the  conviction  that  she  was  a 
cruelly  misjudged  and  badly  treated  indi- 
vidual. She  resolved  to  bear  her  martyr- 
dom with  heroic  fortitude,  never  neglecting 
to  let  her  listener  know  how  bravely  she 
was  facing  her  fate.  In  her  own  estimation 
she  had  few  friends  and  many  enemies. 
In  order  to  make  the  proper  allowances 
for  her  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  she 
was  seventy-one,  and  of  course  the  way 
that  seventy-one  views  matters  depends 
upon  how  the  fleeting  years  have  been 
spent. 

The  quarrel  was  in  many  respects  a  very 
natural  one.  Inez  was  guilty  of  an  in- 
discretion incident  to  her  age.  To  be  sure 
there  was  a  young  man  in  the  episode,  but 
the  whole  matter  could  have  been  laughed 
away  easily,  if  grandmother  had  not  been 
so  aggressively  determined  about  it.  She 
took  Inez  to  task,  very  emphatically  ex- 
pressed her  opinion  and  laid  down  the  law. 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  107 

The  spirited  retort  of  Inez  was  followed 
by  a  bitter  rejoinder  from  grandmother. 
Word  followed  word,  each  cutting  deeper 
than  the  preceding  one,  until,  stung  to 
the  quick,  the  younger  belligerent  vehe- 
mently expressed  her  opinion  of  the  elder 
one,  who,  vanquished,  retired  to  weep  and 
to  coddle  her  martyrdom. 

Then  followed  a  period  which,  if  not  un- 
bearable to  the  principals,  was,  at  least, 
very  painful  to  others.  Inez  arid  her 
grandmother  would  meet  at  the  tables  or 
in  the  parlors  of  mutual  friends  and  rela- 
tives without  seeming  to  be  conscious  of 
each  other's  presence.  In  the  private  con- 
fabs which  each  held  with  her  intimates, 
she  laid  the  blame  on  the  other  in  the  most 
expressive  language  at  command.  Inez 
claimed  that  her  grandmother  was  unreason- 
able in  her  demands  and  unjust  in  her 
commands.  Altogether  she  considered  her- 
self a  greatly  injured  young  lady.  Grand- 
mother complained  of  the  girl's  lack  of 
love  and  obedience  and  reverence  for  age. 
Inez  added  emphasis  to  her  words  by  de- 
termined tosses  of  her  head.  Grandmother 
shed  tears  easilv  and  abundantlv. 


I08  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  a  mutual  friend 
was  called  in  to  advise  and  if  possible  to 
arbitrate.  Years  before  he  would  have  de- 
cided at  once  in  favor  of  the  grandmother 
on  the  score  that  youth  should  yield  to 
age.  But  his  study  of  adolescence  had 
brought  him  to  understand  how  impossible 
it  is  for  sixteen  to  view  anything  from  the 
standpoint  of  seventy.  So  he  explained 
to  the  elderly  lady  some  of  the  difficulties 
that  stood  in  the  way  of  her  offspring.  She 
was  obdurate,  demanded  a  full  apology 
and  a  promise  of  future  submission.  Of 
course  the  younger  woman  refused  these 
terms  of  surrender.  What  was  to  be  done? 
In  the  hopes  of  getting  the  elder  lady  to 
have  a  Httle  forbearance  for  the  younger 
one,  the  friend  made  inquiries  as  to  the 
behavior  of  the  former  when  she  was  sixteen. 
To  his  surprise,  although  he  should  have 
been  prepared  for  the  discovery,  he  learned, 
as  the  result  of  his  investigations,  that  at 
sixteen  grandmother  had  been  just  what 
Inez  is,  or,  to  tell  the  truth,  a  good  deal 
worse.  Inez  has  her  grandmother's  dispo- 
sition ;  she  thinks,  talks  and  acts  just  as  her 
grandmother    did.     The    action    for    which 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HUMANITY.  I09 

Inez  was  so  severely  reprimanded  was  a 
ver>^  mild  reflection  of  a  similar  one  of 
which  her  grandmotlier  had  been  guilty 
at  the  same  age.  The  tongue  thrashing 
w^hich  Inez  had  administered  to  her  grand- 
mother was  a  very  gentle  one  in  comparison 
with  those  with  which  the  latter  frequently 
had  lashed  her  elders  when  they  had  dared 
to  cross  her  pathway.  The  outbursts  of 
temper  which  vrere  so  marked  in  the  younger 
woman  wxre  considered  mild  by  those  who 
could  recall  the  violence  of  the  youthful 
outbreaks  of  the  elder  woman.  So  the  re- 
semblances were  noted  when  this  one  and 
that  one  were  interviewed.  As  one  old 
lady  expressed  it,  "They  are  as  alike  as 
two  peas."  What  grandmother  was  at 
sixteen  Inez  now  is,  only  she  is  not  so  ex- 
treme. It  is  a  clear  case  of  atavism.  The 
marked  characteristics  had  skipped  a  gen- 
eration to  appear  in  somewhat  modified 
form  in  the  granddaughter. 

It  was,  however,  absolutely  impossible 
to  get  the  old  lady  to  see  or  to  acknowledge 
those  facts  so  patent  to  everybody  else. 
So  nothing  could  be  done. 


no         THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

The  obvious  lessons  for  those  who  have 
the  handHng  of  young  adolescents  are  two: 

1.  GrKAT  AI.LOWANCES  SHOULD  BE  MADE 
FOR  ABNORIVIAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  DIS- 
POSITION    DISPLAYED     BY     YOUNG     PEOPLE. 

2.  The  elder  SHOULD  STUDY  THE  YOUNG- 
ER. Those  in  authority  should  study  those 
who  are  to  be  disciplined.  Those  w^ho 
know  more  (or  ought  to  know  more) 
should  make  allowances  for  those  who 
know  less.  It  has  not  always  been  thus. 
Forty  rises  in  the  superiority  of  its  position 
of  parent  or  teacher  and  demands  that 
fourteen  shall  study  it,  so  that  all  its  whims 
and  crotchets  may  be  understood  and  sym- 
pathized with.  Seventy-one  demands  that 
sixteen  shall  study  it,  so  that  the  latter 
shall  }deld  in  all  things.  This  is  contrary 
to  common  sense,  to  reason,  and  to  the 
spirit  of  Christianity,  which  teaches  that 
the  strong  should  bear  the  infirmities  of 
the  weak. 

The  hopeful  thought  in  connection  with 
this  characteristic  of  atavism  is:  Much 
may  be  done  by  judicious  and  persistent 
training  to  develop  the  opposite  of  those 
traits   which    are    objectionable,    and    thus 


THE    PASTOR   AS  I)   H I  MAN  IT  V.  Ill 

give  no  room  for  their  manifestations.  A 
child  with  an  inherited  tendency  to  give 
way  to  a  hasty  temper  may  be  so  schooled 
in  self-control  that  the  very  forces  which 
make  his  or  her  outbreaks  so  terrific  may 
be  expended  in  the  performance  of  heroic 
deeds.  While  there  is  more  hope  for  vic- 
tory if  the  training  is  begun  in  infancy, 
still  the  crucial  period  is  during  early  ado- 
lescence. Then  the  tendency  to  recur  to 
type  is  most  marked.  Primary  and  Junior 
teachers  can  do  much,  and  in  many  cases 
help  to  win  the  battle  before  it  is  really 
fought;  but  to  the  teacher  of  young  ado- 
lescents above  all  others  is  given  the  priv- 
ilege of  understanding  the  subject  of  ata- 
vism, of  stud}ang  the  pupil  and  of  exerting 
influences  on  the  side  of  what  pupils  ought 
to  be. 

Finally,  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that 
grace  is  stronger  than  atavism.  If  the 
pupil  is  born  again,  many  struggles  will 
be  avoided.  When  the  forces  within  the 
young  adolescent  come  into  play,  and  the 
tendency  is  to  recur  to  a  trait  that  should 
be  eradicated,  grace  will  help  mightily  in 
the  process  of  eradication.     Where  the  Di- 


I  I  2         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

\'ine  Life  controls,  that  which  is  in  oppo- 
sition to  it  must  go.  Hence,  the  teacher's 
aim  constantly  should  be  to  lead  the  young 
people  to  Christ,  and,  if  they  are  disciples, 
to  lead  them  to  a  better  knowledge  of  and 
a  closer  union  with  him  who  said:  "I  am 
come  that  ye  may  have  life  and  that  ye 
may  have  it  more  abundantly." 

This  talk,  followed  by  a  discussion,  which 
should  have  for  its  object,  not  the  forcing 
of  the  teachers  to  agree  with  the  pastor's 
conclusions,  but  the  stimulating  of  the 
teachers  to  investigate  the  subject  for 
themselves,  would  result  in  an  altogether 
different  attitude  toward  many  of  the  pupils 
than  that  which  is  assumed  by  some  Chris- 
tian workers  to-day,  who  are  living  in  the 
twilight  of  the  past,  when  God  in  many 
ways  is  offering  them  the  sunlight  of  these 
blessed  times. 

Hard  work!  Patience  required!  Perse- 
verance needed!  Ah,  yes,  but  how  blessed 
the  pastor  who  engages  in  this  work! 
He  may  not  know  so  much  about  some  good 
people  who  died  centuries  ago,  but  he  will 
learn  a  great  deal  about  some  who  are 
much  alive  to-day,  and  he  may  be  a  bless- 


THK    PASTOK    AM)    UrMANITV.  II3 

ing  to  his  teachers  in  helping  them  to  be 
what  God  desires  them  to  be. 

4.  For  the  school  as  a  whole.  By  the  time 
that  the  pastor  is  able  to  assist  his  teachers 
as  suggested  in  the  foregoing,  he  has  so 
secured  their  confidence  that  they  a,re  very 
willing  to  be  advised  by  him.  He  is  in  a 
position  not  only  to  benefit  individual 
teachers  or  groups  of  teachers,  but  also 
to  make  suggestions  for  the  good  of  the 
school  as  a  whole.  Among  the  many  points 
which  the  pastor,  because  of  his  knowledge 
of  the  traits  and  capabilities  of  those  who 
form  its  membership,  may  suggest  in  order 
to  raise  the  tone  of  his  Bible  school,  the 
following  are  offered  by  way  of  sugges- 
tion : 

(a)  Grading.  To  those  who  know  the 
facts,  the  gradation  of  the  Bible  school  is 
not  now  a  fad,  but  it  is  understood  by 
them  to  be  based  on  true  psychology  and 
approved  pedagogy.  The  student  of  paid- 
ology  and  ephebics  will  be  able,  not  only 
to  propose  some  such  scheme  as  the  fol- 
lowing for  the  gradation  of  the  Bible  school, 
but  also  to  tell  v/hy  the  divisions  are  as 
made  and  why  they  should  be  maintained. 


114 


THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER  TRAINING. 


A  Graded  Bible  School. 

NAME  OF 
DEP'T. 

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iterme- 
diate. 

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CQ  1  CU 

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.^^  ^^       Birth 

1       1         ' 

All 

AGE  OF          , 
PUPII^.      jI%^ 

3-6  6-9  9-1212-16 

16-18 

18-80 

16-20 

Oth- 
ers. 

(6)  Promoting.  If  a  school  is  to  be 
kept  graded  there  must  be  annual  promo- 
tions. The  pastor  who  has  studied  his 
pupils  will  be  able  to  show"  how  selfish 
or  how  foolish  is  the  boast  of  the  teacher 
who  declares,  "I  took  my  girls  just  as  they 
came  out  of  the  Primary'  Department,  and 
I  have  some  of  them  yet,  although  the>^ 
now  have  children  of  their  own  in  the 
Primary."  There  was  a  time  when  such 
a  boast  was  to  the  credit  of  the  teacher, 
but  that  time  is  in  the  darkness  of  the  past. 

(c)  Assigning  of  teachers.  Plis  studies 
in  childhood  and  adolescence  will  convince 
the  pastor  of  certain  facts  concerning  which 
teachers  are  best  suited  for  certain  classes. 
Some  of  these  facts  he  will  be  able  to  state 
in  the  teachers'  meeting;  others  of  them, 
for  obvious  reasons,  he  will  tell  to  individ- 
uals.    The    point    is:  He    \vill    be    able    to 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  I15 

make  out  his  case  so  well  that  the  school 
will  accept  some  such  scheme  of  assign- 
ment of  teachers  as  the  one  that  follows: 

In  the  Primary  Department  boys  and 
girls  should  be  together.  The  sex  of  the 
teacher  makes  no  difference,  but  the  one 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  depart- 
ment should  love  children,  should  be  able 
to  talk  to  the  children  in  their  own  lan- 
guage, and  should  have  the  power  of  illus- 
trating spiritual  truths  with  illustrations 
on  the  plane  of  the  children's  experience. 
If,  in  addition,  he  or  she  is  a  musician, 
so  much  the  better,  but  this  is  not  a  sine 
qua  non,  as  an  assistant  may  attend  to 
the  musical  part  of  the  work  of  the  de- 
partment. 

In  the  Junior  Department  boys  and  girls 
may  be  together,  and  the  teacher  may  be 
of  either  sex,  but  should  be  one  who  under- 
stands the  characteristics  of  young  people 
between  nine  and  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
how  the  knowledge  of  those  characteristics 
may  be  employed  in  teaching. 

In  the  Intermediate  Department  the 
boys  and  girls  should  be  separated.  The 
former   should   have   a   male   teacher,    the 


Il6  THE    PASTOR    AND    TIvACHEK    TRAINIXO. 

latter  a  female.  Above  all  tilings  the  teach- 
er should  be  one  who  will  study  the  traits 
of  the  pupils  and  enter  sympathetically 
into  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

In  the  Senior  Department  again  the 
sexes  should  be  separated,  and  the  teacher 
may  be  of  the  sex  other  than  tha,t  of 
the  pupils.  One  w^ho  w^ill  be  a  fellow- stu- 
dent and  a  fellow-worker  with  the  pupils 
is  most  likely  to  succeed.    * 

In  the  Adult  Department  the  two  sexes 
may  be  in  the  same  class.  The  sex  of  the 
teacher  makes  no  difference,  provided  that 
one  will  help  the  pupils  in  the  intellectual 
difficulties  in  which  they  find  themselves 
involved. 

In  only  exceptional  cases  should  the 
teacher  move  with  the  class  out  of  the 
department.  The  greatest  skill  is  de- 
veloped through  the  teacher  instructing 
the  same  grade  year  after  year. 

I  am  aware  of  the  trouble  that  would 
be  caused  in  many  Bible  schools  by  simply 
mentioning  the  points  named  above.  The 
reason  is  that  most  workers  in  those  schools 
do  not  understand  why  such  things  should 
be    done.     They   fear    an   upheaval   which 


THE    PASTOR   AND   HUMANITY.  II7 

they  consider  harmful.  Hence,  the  urgency 
of  the  plea  in  this  lecture  that  the  pastor 
lead  his  teachers  in  studying  their  pupils. 
In  order  to  lead  them,  he  also  must  study. 
When  the  facts  are  known  the  misconcep- 
tion that  the  school  is  to  be  injured  will 
be  removed,  and  that  which,  perhaps,  is 
impossible  now,  will  be  accomplished  easily 
in  the  days  to  come.  Above  all  things, 
the  pastor  should  refrain  from  the  attempt 
to  make  radical  changes  before  the  workers 
in  the  school  are  ready  for  them.  If  con- 
templated changes  are  considered  radical 
by  a  large  number  of  workers  in  a  Bible 
school  the  time  to  m.ake  them  has  not  yet 
arrived.  WTien  the  proper  tim.e  comes, 
they  will  be  looked  upon  as  what  ought 
to  be.  Changes  should  come  as  an  evo- 
lution and  not  as  a  revolution.  In  order 
to  hasten  their  coming  the  pastor  should 
not  be  discouraged,  but  should  be  an  en- 
thusiastic student  of  mankind,  especially 
as  represented  by  the  numerous  types  in 
his  Bible  school. 

in.  How  shall  the  pastor  lead  hU  teachers 
in  the  study  of  human  nature  ?  I  can  see  the 
look  of  despair  on  some  of  your  faces  as  this 


Il8         THE   PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

question  comes  to  your  mind.  I  hear  you  ex- 
claiming: When  shall  I  find  time  for  this 
study?  Where  shall  I  go  to  engage  in  it? 
Perhaps  there  is  already  forming  the 
thought  of  going  to  some  university  in 
order  to  take  a  special  course  in  psychology 
and  paidology.  This  might,  of  all  things, 
be  the  very  worst  that  you  could  do,  for 
then  you  might  become  a  theorist  instead 
of  a  practical  worker.  My  thought  is, 
not  that  you  shall  know  the  boy  about 
whom  we  read,  but  that  you  shall  under- 
stand the  boy  who  is  in  your  Bible  school. 
Read  a  few  books  to  get  your  starting 
points,  your  principles,  but  remember  that 
the  real  book  of  human  nature  lies  open 
all  about  you.  Use  your  eyes,  use  your 
ears,  use  your  brain,  and  you  will  soon 
know  so  much  about  human  nature  that 
you  will  desire  to  know  more.  Do  not 
wait  until  you  know  it  all  before  you  begin 
to  practice  what  you  do  know.  To-day 
you  have,  perchance,  learned  a  few  facts; 
on  next  Sunday  begin  to  experiment  on 
what  you  have  learned. 

Above  all  do  not  forget  that  all  this  study 
is  not  for  vour  own  sake  alone.     It  is  not  an 


THE   PASTOR   AND    HUMANITY.  II9 

esoteric  matter.  It  is  for  the  sake  of 
helping  your  Bible-school  teachers  to  get 
the  training  necessary  for  their  great  work. 
You  are  to  lead  them  in  the  study  of  their 
pupils.  You  are  to  be  a  fellow-student 
with  a  group  of  men  and  women  who  are 
interested  in  this  subject.  Therefore,  it 
would  not  be  wise  for  you  to  take  a  course 
of  training,  which  is  altogether  out  of  their 
reach.  This  point  is  emphasized  because 
it  is  the  conviction  of  the  lecturer  that 
the  average  Bible  school  is  to  be  benefited 
by  the  line  of  study  for  which  he  has  been 
pleading. 


THK   PASTOR  AND   PEDAGOGY. 


LECTURE  IV. 

THE  PASTOR   LEADING    HIS  TEACHERS  IN  THE 
THE    STUDY    OF    RELIGIOUS    PEDAGOGY. 

The  good  man  was  in  his  study  all  the. 
morning  preparing  for  the  midweek  prayer 
meeting.  He  had  studied,  prayed  and 
communed  much.  He  had  ascended  the 
heights,  and  he  felt  confident  that  he  had 
a  message  to  which  his  people  would  listen 
and  from  which  they  would  derive  great 
benefit.  Under  the  inspiration  of  his  prep- 
aration he  does  his  very  best  in  delivering 
the  message,  but  his  efi'orts  seem  to  be 
almost  fruitless.  It  is  as  much  as  some 
of  his  hearers  can  do  to  keep  awake,  while 
the  faces  of  others  plainly  indicate  that 
they  are  listening  more  because  of  habit 
than  because  they  arc  really  interested. 

The  pastor  goes  to  bed,  and  tosses  about, 
as  he  prays  and  questions  himself  as  to 
why  his  w^ell-prepared  message  failed  to 
arouse  his  people.     He  blames  them,  then 


122         THE   PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

he  blames  himself,  but  there  is  no  satis- 
faction in  either  course  of  procedure.  He 
gets  nothing  to  help  him  in  his  preparation 
for  the  next  prayer  meeting. 

Wherein  lay  the  fault?  Not  in  the  pas- 
tor's preparation,  but  in  his  ignorance  of, 
or  neglect  of,  a  well-known  pedagogical 
principle,  that  known  as  apperception.  Ac- 
cording to  this  principle  it  is  impossible 
to  make  any  impression  on  the  mind  un- 
less there  is  something  in  the  mind  upon 
which  the  fact  or  truth  to  be  learned 
may   be   placed. 

"The  following  account  of  an  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  to  illustrate  'the  love  of  God' 
proves  the  necessity  for  the  recognition 
and  the  application  of  this  principle: 

"I  had  taught  the  class  for  about  six 
weeks,  and  had  gotten  on  well  with  all 
the  boys  except  one,  who  was  about  thir- 
teen years  of  age,  and  who  seemed  to  be 
interested  in  the  topic  of  the  day  until  the 
time  came  for  making  the  personal  appli- 
cation. For  example,  the  thought  was, 
'God  is  love.'  I  wished  to  illustrate  it, 
and  I  would  say  to  my  boy:  'Albert,  God 
loves  vou.     He  loves  \'ou  more  than  your 


THK   PASTOR   AND   PEDAGOGY.  1 23 

father  loves  you.'  Then  there  came  into 
the  boy's  eye  a  look  that  I  could  not  under- 
stand. It  was  hard  and  cold.  Sometimes 
there  was  a  sneer  on  his  faco,  and  I  imag- 
ined that  my  boy  did  not  care  to  learn 
about  the  love  of  God. 

"One  Sunday  afternoon  he  was  absent 
from  the  class,  and  the  next  morning  I 
was  irresistibly  impelled  to  visit  his  home. 
On  entering  the  room  in  the  rear  tenement, 
to  my  surprise  I  found  that  the  boy  was 
there  instead  of  at  school.  His  mother 
was  very  silent  and  reserved.  After  re- 
peated efforts  to  engage  her  in  conversa- 
tion I  said  to  myself,  'That  is  what  is  the 
matter  with  Albert;  he  takes  after  his 
mother.'  But  the  vSpirit  said  to  me,  'That 
is  not  all;  there  is  some  other  reason  for 
the  boy's  actions.'  So  I  chatted  as  pleasant- 
ly as  I  could  to  the  woman,  who  responded 
in  monosyllables.  vSuddenly,  without  any 
apparent  cause,  she  burst  out  weeping, 
and  said:  VDon't  be  hard  on  my  boy.'  I 
replied:  *I  am  not  hard  on  your  boy;  I 
love  him.  That  is  the  reason  I  am  here 
this  morning  instead  of  being  at  my  work.' 

"Again    I    went    on    talking,    while    the 


124  THE    PAMUR   A.\D    THACHivK    TRAINING. 

woman  merely  said  '  yes '  or  '  no, '  as  occasion 
demanded.  Again,  apparently  without  any 
reason,  she  burst  out  crying.  When  she 
could  control  herself  she  said:  'I  must  tell 
somebody;  I  may  as  well  tell  you  as  any- 
body else.  My  boy  and  I  spent  the  night 
out  in  that  area  v/ay,  and  his  father  was 
in  this  room  crazy  drunk,  threatening  to 
kill  us  with  a  bread  knife  if  either  of  us 
came  into  the  room.'  Then  it  was  as  if  the 
heavens  had  opened  to  give  me  light.  I 
had  been  trying  to  teach  the  boy  that  God 
loved  him,  and  had  foolishly  illustrated 
that  love  by  a  father's  love.  He  had  no 
father.  A  brute  lived  in  the  same  house 
with  him.  Was  it  any  wonder  that  he  did 
not  want  God's  love?  Afterwards,  how- 
ever, when  I  could  take  my  boy  aside  and 
say  to  him,  'Albert,  God  loves  you  more 
than  your  mother  loves  you,'  he  understood 
just  what  I  meant,  and  responded  to  my 
teachings. 

"That  God  is  love  is  a  grand  truth;  but 
that  we  are  illustrating  that  truth  in  the 
right  way  is  a  question.  Perhaps  some 
with  whom  we  have  to  deal  do  not  know 
of  the  love  of  God  because  of  our  lack  of 


.       OF  THE 

i    UNIVERSITY 

THE    PASTOR   AND    PICDAC.OGV.  125 

wisdom  in  presenting  that  love.  The  prin- 
ciple of  apperception  will  help  us  here  as 
elsewhere." — Bible  School  Pedagogy. 

It  is  not  a  rare  occurrence  to  meet  a  pastor 
who  declares  that,  in  spite  of  his  studious 
preparation  for  preaching  and  his  earnest 
delivery  of  what  he  has  prepared,  the  mem- 
bers of  his  congregation  seem  to  have  very 
hazy  notions  concerning  the  fundamental 
truths  and  great  facts  of  their  religion. 
This,  alas!  in  many  places  is  only  too  true. 
Wherein  lies  the  blame?  Far  be  it  from 
me  to  assume  to  answer  that  question  ade- 
quately. The  suggestion  is  made,  however, 
that  perhaps  the  preacher  has  ignored  another 
great  principle  of  pedagogy,  namely,  that 
knov/n  as  the  principle  of  correlation. 

vSome  preachers  have  attempted  to  ascer- 
tain how  much  of  a  certain  sermon  was 
grasped  ])y  the  people;  whether  the  salient 
]X)ints  were  apprehended.  Such  attempts 
have  frequently  resulted  in  humihation  to 
the  preacher.  Were  others  of  his  ministerial 
brethren  to  make  similar  experiments  cha- 
grin would  I^e  a  mild  word  to  describe  their 
feelings  at  the  result.  Why  is  there  such  a 
lack  of  apprehension  of  the  contents  of  even 


126  THE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

the  best  sermons  on  the  part  of  the  most  in- 
telHgent  hearers?  Is  it  an  indication  that 
their  intelhgence  has  been  over-estimated? 
In  some  cases  it  may  be  so,  but  most  fre- 
quently the  fault  lies  in  the  preacher,  who 
violates  a  third  great  principle  of  peda- 
gogy, that  known  as  the  principle  of  con- 
centration. 

If  the  average  pastor  is  so  unfamiliar 
with  the  principles  of  pedagogy,  it  would 
seem  hopeless  in  attempting  to  persuade 
him  to  become  the  leader  of  his  teachers 
in  their  study  and  application  of  these 
principles.  But  one  of  the  aims  of  this 
series  of  lectures  is  to  convince  pastors 
of  the  great  help  that  a  knowledge  of  these 
principles  will  be  to  them  in  their  own 
work.  Once  they  have  grasped,  and  have 
begun  to  apply,  them  in  their  preaching 
and  lecturing,  the  value  thereof  will  be 
so  self-evident  that  they  will  go  on  to  future 
study  and  experiment  for  themselves  and 
become  the  inspirers  and  perhaps  the 
leaders  of  their  Bible  school  teachers  in 
this  most  important  science. 

To  do  this  requires  first  of  all  the  willing 
mind.     The  pastor  who  realizes  the  need 


THE    PASTOR    AND    PEDAGOGY.  I27 

of  the  application  of  pedagogical  principles 
to  his  own  work,  and  that  of  his  Bible-school 
teachers,  must  have  as  his  first  and  chief 
preparation  the  willingness  to  be  a  leader 
in  the  study  and  application  of  these 
principles. 

It  is  said  that  years  ago  when  one  of 
our  great  universities  was  a  small  college, 
there  was  a  \'acancy  in  the  department 
of  geology.  A  young  man  applied  for  an 
appointment  as  instructor.  He  was  asked 
if  he  knew  much  about  the  subject  in 
which  instruction  was  to  be  given.  He 
replied  that  he  did  not,  but  that  he  was 
full  of  enthusiasm  for  the  subject,  that  he 
was  willing  to  study  hard  and  to  make  ex- 
periments, and  that  he  knew  sufficient  to 
keep  so  far  ahead  of  his  class  that  he  would 
be  able  to  lead  them.  He  obtained  the 
coveted  appointment.  He  lived  up  to  his 
promises,  making  a  first-class  instructor  be- 
cause he  was  a  fellow-student  with  the 
members  of  his  classes.  He  knew  enough 
to  lead  them,  and  did  not  overlook  the 
fact  that  they  did  not  know  very  much 
geology.  He  afterwards  became  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  professors  in  his  subject. 


IZS  THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAIXINC. 

Is  there  not  a  hint  here  for  those  who 
would  become  leaders  in  the  study  of  ped- 
agogy in  connection  wdth  the  Bible  school? 
Shall  we  not  so  seriously  ponder  this  hint 
that  in  the  years  to  come  our  Bible  schools 
will  show  the  result  of  our  acting  upon  it? 

The  definite  question  for  our  consideration 
in  this  lecture  is:  How  shall  the  paster  lead 
his  teachers  in  the  study  of  religious  peda- 
gogy? 

vSuggestively,  a  six-fold  answer  is  offered 
to  this  question: 

I.  There  are  great  fundamental  principles  of 
pedagogy,  which  are  applicable  to  religious 
worlc.  Having  accepted  this  statement  as  a 
fact,  the  pastor  should  make  up  his  mind  that 
he  will  grasp  and  apply  these  principles 
in  his  own  work  as  a  teacher  and  preacher. 
At  first,  he  need  not  be  concerned  with 
many  principles.  A  veteran,  successful 
day-school  teacher  once  declared^  that  all 
pedagogy  might  be  comprehended  in  three 
principles.  Many  teachers  of  religious 
truths  have  accepted  these  three,  and  have 
found  them  admirable  for  a  beginning. 
They  are  the  three  referred  to  in  the  fore- 
going,  namely: 


THE  PASTOR  AND  PEDAGOGY.         I  29 

1.  The  Principle  of  Apperception. 

2.  The  Principle  of  Correlation. 

3.  The  Principle  of  Concentration. 

Beginning  with  the  three,  and  carefully 
considering  the  results  of  their  proper  ap- 
plication, the  pastor  will  find  himself 
greatly  helped  in  his  work,  and  may  be- 
come a  great  help  to  his  Bible-school 
teachers.  From  time  to  time  it  will  be 
very  easy  for  him  to  make  additions  to 
his  collection  of  principles,  providing  he 
has  laid  the  foundation  properly. 

II.  From  the  principles  of  pedagogy  may  be 
deduced  rules  applicable  to  religious  work.  It 
must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  princple  is 
always  more  important  than  any  rule.  At 
the  same  time,  when  the  principle  is  under- 
stood, the  rule  or  rules  that  are  deduced 
from  it  may  be  \'cry  helpful. 

John  M.  Gregory  was  at  one  time  a  day- 
school  teacher,  then  a  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  and  finally  a  college 
president.  As  the  result  of  his  long  ex- 
perience in  teaching,  he  formulated  a  series 
of  laws  which  are  as  applicable  in  the 
Bible  school  as  they  are  in  the  day  school. 
These  are  known  as 
9 


130  THE    PASTOR    AND    TEACHER   TRAINING. 

The  Seven  Laws  of  Teaching. 

I.  The  Law  of  the  Teacher. 

The  teacher  must  know  that  which 
he  would  teach. 

IL  The  Law  of  the  Learner. 

The  learner  must  attend  with  interest 
to  the  fact  or  truth  to  be  learned. 

in.  The  Law  of  the  Language. 

The  language  used  in  teaching  must 
be  common  to  teacher  and  learner. 

IV.  The  Law  of  the  Lesson. 

The  truth  to  be  taught  must  be 
learned  through  truth  already  known. 

V.  The  Law  of  the  Teaching  Process. 
Excite  and  direct  the  self-activities 
of  the  learner,  and  tell  him  nothing 
that  he  can  learn  himself. 

VI.  The  Law  of  the  Learning  Process. 
The  learner  must  reproduce  in  his 
own  mind  the  truth  to  be  acquired. 

VII.  The  Law  of  Review. 

The  completion,  test  and  confirma- 
tion of  teaching  must  be  made  by 
reviews. 


THE  PASTOR  AND  PKDAGOGV.         I31 

Any  teacher  who  will  paste  a  copy  of 
these  laws  in  his  Bible  and  from  week  to 
week  test  his  methods  of  teaching  by  them, 
will  gradually  come  to  understand  not  only 
what  mistakes  he  is  making  but  also  how 
to  overcome  these  mistakes.  For  example, 
a  vast  number  of  the  mistakes  made  by 
our  Bible-school  pupils  may  be  traceable 
to  the  violation  of  Law  III  on  the  part  of 
our  teachers.  Many  talk,  and  talk  elo- 
quently, but  produce  small  results  because 
much  of  W'hat  they  say  is  not  understood. 

in.  Pedagogical  principles  may  be  explained 
and  illustrated  in  language  understood  by  the 
average  Bible-school  teacher.  Many  scholars 
are  so  learned  that  it  seems  im.possible  for 
them  to  speak  in  the  language  of  everyday  life. 
They  have  vast  funds  of  information,  but  only 
a  favored  few  have  the  benefit  thereof,  be- 
cause of  the  methods  by  which  attempts  are 
made  to  convey  it  to  others.  Three  teachers 
spent  a  week  in  examining  two  recent  pub- 
lications intended  to  help  teachers.  One 
was  a  two-volume  work  written  by  a  very 
learned  man.  The  other  was  a  small  primer 
written  by  one  not  so  learned.  The  ver- 
dict of  the  three  teachers  was:  ''We  have 


132         THE   PASTOR   AXD  TEACHER   TRAINING. 

gotten  more  that  is  helpful  out  of  the  little 
primer  than  out  of  the  two  volumes." 
Why  was  this?  Not  because  there  was 
more  in  the  primer,  but  because  what  it 
contained  was  put  in  such  a  way  that  the 
reader  could  easily  understand  it  and  make 
it  his  own. 

Here  is  a  field  of  almost  limitless  useful- 
ness for  the  pastor.  As  he  gets  hold  of 
great  pedagogical  truths  and  recognizes 
their  value  in  his  own  work,  he  may  so 
translate  those  truths  that  the  youngest 
or  least  educated  teacher  in  his  school  will 
be  able  to  understand  their  meanings.  As 
a  general  thing  the  illustration  will  be  of 
more  value  than  the  statement  of  the  truth. 

How  few  persons  can  get  answers  to 
their  questions!  The  cause  is  frequently 
laid  to  the  ignorance  of  the  one  questioned, 
whereas  it  is  just  as  often  the  fault  of  the 
one  asking  the  question.  It  will  not  be 
of  much  avail  for  the  pastor  to  talk  to  his 
teachers  about  asking  questions,  if  he  is 
not  prepared  to  shov/  by  illustration  what 
a  good  question  is  as  well  as  to  call  attention 
to  poor  ones.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  the 
sort  of  questions  that  should  be  avoided: 


THE    PASTOR   AND    PEDAGOGY.  133 

* '  Where  is  to-day's  lesson  found ? "  Then 
came  the  answers: 

"In  the  Bible." 

*an  Acts." 

"In  the  Book  of  Acts." 

"Acts  eighteen." 

"Acts,  eighteenth  chapter  and  twenty- 
fourth  verse." 

"In  the  twenty-fourth  verse  of  the 
eighteenth  chapter  of  Acts." 

To  the  visitor  in  the  back  of  tlie  school 
room  this  seemed  bad  enough,  but  much 
worse  was  the  fault-finding  of  the  super- 
intendent, who  did  not  seem  to  realize 
that  this  was  just  what  he  ought  to  expect. 

What  could  he  have  done?  He  could 
have  so  framed  his  questions  that  there 
could  have  been  but  one  correct  ansv;er 
to  each  one.  Here  are  specimen  questions 
and  answers: 

From  what  book  of  the  Bible  is  to-day's 
lesiion  taken? 

The  Book  of  Acts. 

From  what  chapter  of  Acts? 

The  eighteenth. 

At  what  verse? 

The    twentv-fourth. 


134         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER  TRAINING. 

PREPARATION 
ERSPICUITY 
OINTEDNESS 
IQUANCY 
ERSONALITY 
ATIENCE 


NEEDED 


ERvSEVERANCE 
RACTICE 


Imagine  a  pastor  taking  a  blackboard 
outline  like  the  above  and  so  mastering 
it  that  he  can  teach  it  to  his  Bible-school 
workers,  illustrating  each  point!  Would 
he  not  derive  great  benefit  himself?  Would 
he  not  be  greatly  helping  his  teachers? 
This  is  a  kind  of  pedagogy  that  is  not  only 
sensible,  but  also  within  the  compass  of 
every  one  who  will  use  the  brains  vvdth 
which  God  has  endowed  him. 

IV.  Experiments  in  pedagogy  should  be 
made  in  the  B^ble  school.  Some  may  object 
to  this  statement  on  the  score  that  the  Bible 
school  or  the  Lord's  Day  is  neither  the  time 
nor  the  place  for  experiments.  But  con- 
sider how  much  experimentation  is  carried 
on  all  the  time  in  our  Bible  schools,  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  our  teachers  do  not 
know  exactly  w^hat  to  do.  From  time  to 
time  they  try  new^  plans,  many  of  which 


THE   PASTOR  AND   PEDAGOGY.  1 35 

have  neither  rhyme  nor  reason  to  support 
them.  When  a  tried  and  approved  prin- 
ciple is  grasped,  or  when  a  good  rule  has 
been  evolved,  shall  we  not  try  it  in  order 
to  ascertain  how  it  will  work?  After  being 
fairly  tried,  the  results  should  be  carefully 
noted  and  deductions  made  therefrom. 
This  is  the  proper  kind  of  experimentation. 
Let  us  see  how  it  may  be  carried  on 
in  specific  cases.  There  are  many  things 
which  our  study  of  humanity  has  led  us 
to  adopt  as  part  of  our  working  pedagogy. 
Recall  some  of  the  characteristics  of  our 
pupils : 

I.  Imitation.  This  trait  is  very  strongly 
marked  in  our  Primary  pupils,  and  is  not 
altogether  wanting  in  those  who  have  long 
since  been  graduated  from  that  department. 
What  pedagogical  value  has  our  knowledge 
of  the  fact  that  our  little  ones  are  imita- 
tive? Emerson  stated  not  merely  a  ped- 
agogical but  a  universal  truth  when  he 
declared,  "What  you  are  speaks  so  loud 
that  I  cannot  hear  what  you  say/'  Value! 
Who  is  able  to  estimate  the  value  of  this 
fact  in  our  Bible-school  work,  especially 
work  among  little  children? 


136  THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

Is  a  teacher  fussy,  talkative, .  noisy,  dis- 
orderly? In  these  things  her  pupils  will 
imitate  her  not  only  within,  but  also  with- 
out, the  walls  of  the  class  room. 

Is  a  teacher  quiet,  self-composed,  rev- 
erent? Then  the  power  of  imitation  will 
lead  the  little  ones  in  a  very  marked  degree 
to  be  as  she  is. 

Listen  to  a  teacher  leading  in  the  recital 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  pupils  use  al- 
most exactly  the  same  tone  of  voice  that 
she  employs. 

Watch  those  children !  They  are  playing 
Sunday  school.  Look  carefully  at  their 
acting  and  you  may  form  a  tolerably  correct 
idea  of  how  their  teacher  conducts  her 
school  service.  Catch  their  leader's  tone 
of  voice,  and  you  may  imagine  how  the 
teacher  uses  her  voice  in  the  class  room. 

Do  you  want  a  child  to  do  a  certain  thing? 
Do  it  yourself.  Do  you  want  a  child  to  be 
a  certain  thing?     Be  it  yourself. 

You  say,  This  is  nothing  new  to  us. 
Is  this  religious  pedagogy?  It  is,  and  it 
is  as  old  as  the  time  of  the  Great  Teacher 
himself,  who  taught  his  disciples,  not  so 
much  by  telling  them  what  to  do,   as  by 


THE    PASTOR   AND    PEDAGOGY.  1 37 

showing  them  what  he  was  and  how  he 
acted.  All  we  need  is  to  have  these  simple 
but  everlastingly-important  facts  called 
to  our  attention  in  order  to  recognize  their 
worth.  vShall  we  not  go  farther  while  we 
put  them  into  operation — inspire  our  teach- 
ers to  experiment  with  them  in  the  class 
room?  Blessed  is  the  Bible  school  who 
has  a  pastor  who  will  lead  his  teachers  in 
experimenting  in  pedagogy  in  order  to 
better  teaching. 

2.  Imagination.  One  of  the  most  active 
powers  of  the  child's  mind  from  the  stand- 
point of  pedagogy  is  his  imagination.  For 
the  teacher  who  knows  the  facts,  the  possi- 
bilities within  her  reach  in  this  field  are 
numberless.  If  she  sees  a  picture,  she  can 
get  the  Httle  one  to  imagine  that  picture ; 
so  also  with  facts  or  truths. 

''Mother,  there  is  a  robber  in  the  house." 

"No,  dear,  there  is  not." 

"Mother,  I  tell  you  there  is  a  great, 
big  robber  in  this  house." 

"You  are  mistaken;  there  is  no  robber 
here." 

"But  mother,  there  is  a  robber  in  this 
house." 


138         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

To  soothe  her  little  one  the  mother 
thought  she  would  humor  him,  so  she 
asked,  "What  does  he  look  like?"  Then 
followed  a  description  of  the  robber  so 
complete  and  so  thrilling  that  the  mother 
was  alarmed.  His  size,  his  face,  his  cloth- 
ing, his  arms  w^cre  all  described  so  minutely 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  boy  were  looking 
at  the  robber  as  he  spoke.  At  this  juncture 
the  father  came  in,  and  as  the  mother,  out 
of  hearing  of  the  boy,  narrated  the  story 
and  expressed  her  fears,  he  burst  out  laugh- 
ing, as  if  the  whole  matter  w^ere  a  great  joke. 
To  his  astonished  wife  he  explained  that  on 
a  bill-board  not  far  from  the  house  v/as  the 
picture  of  a  robber  just  such  as  the  boy 
had  described.  With  his  vivid  imagina- 
tion aflame  it  w^as  but  natural  that  the 
picture  should  make  a  strong  impression 
upon  the  little  fellow  and  that  he  should 
bring  it  home.  Had  he  been  accused  of 
untruthfulness  he  would  have  stuck  to  his 
story  because  he  really  saw  that  robber 
in  the  house. 

Let  a  pastor  understand  what  he  can 
do  with  the  imagination  of  a  little  child, 
and  he  will  have  a  leverage  for  lifting  that 


the;  pastor  and  pedagogy.  139 

one  into  realms  of  knowledge  with  which 
he  ought  to  be  familiar.  Led  by  the  pas- 
tor the  teacher  may  experiment  until  she, 
too,  masters  the  secret  of  how  to  make 
use  of  her  pupils'  imagination  in  the  im- 
partation  of  biblical  facts  and  spiritual 
truths. 

.3.  Curiosity.  Any  person  who  has  had 
nuich  to  do  with  little  children  knows 
that  curiosity  is  a  very  marked  character- 
istic of  their  make-up.  Indeed,  it  is  re- 
ported on  credible  authority  that  there  are 
persons  nearer  their  second  childhood  than 
their  first  who  have  never  gotten  their 
curiosity  fully  satisfied.  How^ever,  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  teacher  to  know  that 
the  child  is  curious  amounts  to  but  very 
little  unless  one  knows  how  to  make  use 
of  that  curiosity  in  the  impartation  of  those 
things  for  which    the  Bible  school   stands. 

I  hand  one  of  you  young  gentlemen  a 
newspaper,  saying,  ''There  is  something 
that  will  interest  you."  You  take  it,  look 
at  it,  and  then  look  up  at  me.  I  ask,  "What 
is  the  matter?"  You  respond,  ''This  is 
last  week's  paper;  I  read  it  some  days  ago." 
Do  I  chide  vou  for  not  wantin^:  to  read  it 


140         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

again?  No,  indeed;  I  blame  myself  for 
being  so  stupid  as  to  expect  you  to  be  in- 
terested in  news  a  week  old. 

What  frequently  takes  place  in  the  Pri- 
mary Department?  The  teacher  has  a 
picture  roll  on  which  is  some  scene  connected 
with  the  lesson  of  the  day.  Before  the 
children  arrive  she  very  carefully  exposes 
the  roll  to  view,  arranging  the  frame  so 
that  the  picture  will  be  visible  to  the  largest 
possible  number  of  pupils.  They  come  in, 
one  at  a  'time,  by  twos  and  threes.  They 
take  their  seats,  and,  urged  on  by  their 
curiosity,  look  at  the  picture.  Because 
their  receptive  powers  are  strong,  in  a  very 
few  minutes  they  take  in  all  that  they  are 
able  to  get  out  of  the  picture.  From  time 
to  time  they  glance  at  it,  and  each  time 
it  becomes  less  interesting  to  them  because 
their  curiosity  concerning  it  has  been  sat- 
isfied. 

It  is  the  time  for  lesson  study.  Teacher 
turns  to  the  picture  which  means  so  much 
to  her  and  to  which  she  has  given  much 
study.  She  is  surprised  that  the  scholars 
are  inattentive,  that  they  do  not  seem  to 
appreciate  the  picture.     Her  efforts  to  get 


THE    PASTOR    AXD    PEDAGOGY.  1^1 

them  interested  result  in  nothing  but 
nerve  wear  and  tear  for  herself.  Wherein 
lies  the  difficulty?  In  the  teacher,  most 
assuredly.  She  has  given  the  children  last 
week's  newspaper  and  they  are  not  at  all 
pleased  with  it.  Long  ago  they  had  gotten 
out  of  the  picture  all  they  desired.  Long 
ago  they  had  discounted  what  vShe  so 
earnestly  tried  to  say.  Can  you  blame 
these  little  ones? 

Some  one  inquires,  What  should  the 
teacher  do?  Banish  the  picture  roll  from 
the  class  room?  By  no  means.  She  should 
make  of  it  a  most  valuable  adjunct  to  her 
teaching.  In  order  to  do  this  she  must 
understand  that  her  pupils  are  curious, 
and  that  their  curiosity  may  be  made  one 
of  her  strongest  allies  in  teaching.  Instead 
of  exposing  to  the  pupil's  view  the  picture 
on  the  lesson  for  the  day,  'she  should  take 
pains  to  let  her  pupils  know  that  she  is 
concealing  something  from  them.  This 
will  whet  their  curiosity.  If,  as  she  ought 
to  be,  she  is  on  good  terms  with  them, 
one  of  them  will  come  up  to  her  and  some- 
thing like  the  following  dialogue  will  take 
place : 


14^  THE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER    TRAINING. 

"Have  you  got  a  picture  there,  teacher?" 

"Yes,   indeed.'' 

"Is  it  a  nice  one?'' 

"Yes,  it  is  a  very  fine  picture.  I  think 
that  you  will  be  very  much  pleased  to  see  it." 

"Will  you  let  me  look  at  it?" 

"Certainly;  go  to  your  seat,  be  a  good 
boy  and  bye  and  bye  I  will  show  you  this 
beautiful    picture." 

The  little  fellow  returns  to  his  seat  and 
informs  the  one  next  him  that  the  teacher 
has  a  nice  picture  and  that  she  is  going  to 
show  it  to  them  soon.  This  information 
is  passed  to  others,  and  they  fairly  quiver 
with  curiosity  to  know  what  the  picture 
is.  They  wonder  and  speculate,  and  the 
more  they  do  so  the  more  anxious  are  they 
to  see  the  picture. 

The  time  for  teaching  arrives.  After 
a  few  preliminary  sentences  tending  to 
arouse  further  curiosity  in  the  picture, 
the  teacher  exposes  it,  and  while  the  curi- 
osity of  the  children  directs  to  it  not  only 
their  eyes  but  also  their  minds  with  ab- 
sorbing interest,  the  story  which  it  depicts 
is  drawn  out  by  questions  and  the  lesson 
is  taught.     Then  the  picture  for  that  day 


THE    PASTOR    AND    PKDA(;()GV.  1 43 

has  lost  its  value.  It  may  afterwards  be 
referred  to  very  briefly  for  the  purpose  of 
recalling  something  to  the  minds  of  the 
cliildren.  Ah!  fellow-students  of  pedagogy, 
do  we  not  realize  the  difference  between 
last  week's  newspaper  and  the  latest  extra? 

What  is  done  with  the  picture  roll  may 
likewise  be  done  with  the  blackboard, 
objects,  symbols,  small  pictures  or  any- 
thing else  intended  to  attract  and  to  hold 
the  attention  of  the  pupils.  The  peda- 
gogical value  of  sSuch  materials  is  not  so 
much  in  themselves  as  in  the  way  in  which 
they  are  employed.  Do  we  not  realize 
what  possibilities  lie  within  the  proper 
knowledge  of,  and  the  proper  treatment 
of,  the  curiosity  of  children? 

V.  The  results  of  pedagogical  experiment 
should  be  carefully  considered  and  compared. 
The  pastor  who  is  leading  his  teachers  in  ex- 
periments in  pedagogy,  having  grasped  the 
great  truths  connected  with  what  may  be  done 
with  the  curiosity  of  children,  gives  his  teach- 
ers a  talk  on  the  subject .  Among  his  listerners 
is  one  who  says,  "That  is  fine.  I'll  begin 
to  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  my  boys." 
Accordingly,  during  the  week  she  prepares 


144  '^^t:FC    PASTOR    AND    TKACH1:k    TKAINIXd. 

herself  and  comes  to  her  class  on  the  Lord's 
Day  conscious  of  her  ability  to  apply  what 
she  has  learned.  She  begins  on  her  boys. 
They  look  at  her  and  at  one  another  stupidly. 
The  stronger  her  appeals  to  their  imagina- 
tion, the  less  the  effect  produced.  It  would 
not  be  strange  if  one  of  the  boys  were  to 
nudge  his  seatmate  in  the  ribs  and  say 
under  his  breath,  What's  she  giving  us, 
anyhow  ? 

Discouraged  she  goes  home,  and  soon 
seeks  an  opportunity  to  tell  her  pastor 
that  she  tried  w^hat  he  advised  in  regard 
to  making  use  of  the  imagination  and  that 
the  attempt  was  a  failure.  A  few  questions 
by  the  intelligent,  w^ell  informed  pastor  en- 
ables him  to  diagnose  the  case  exactly. 
The  following  is  a  summary  of  what  is  said : 

"How  old  are  your  boys?" 

"They  will  average  about  eleven  years 
of  age." 

"To  whom  was  I  talking  about  the  ped- 
agogical power  of  imagination,  when  you 
heard  the  address  that  made  you  resolve 
to  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  your  boys  ? ' ' 

"I  thought  you  w^ere  talking  to  all  the 
teachers." 


THH    I'ASTOK    AXl)    PKDACHHJV.  145 

"So  I  was,  but  I  meant  to  impress  the 
fact  that  the  trait  of  imitation  is  of  especial 
pedagogical  value  when  instructing  young 
children,  especially  those  who  are  under 
nine  years  of  age.  Your  boys  are  in  the 
literal,  matter-of-fact  period,  which  is  one 
of  the  marked  characteristics  of  pupils  of 
the  Junior  Department,  or  of  those  be- 
tween the  ages  of  nine  and  twelve  years." 

Then  the  pastor  comforts  the  teacher, 
gives  her  some  points  in  reference  to  the 
method  of  teaching  pupils  of  the  age  of 
those  in  her  class,  and  she  departs  not  only 
with  more  confidence  than  ever  in  her  pas- 
tor, but  also  with  a  greater  determination 
to  be  a  better  teacher. 

Is  there  any  more  valuable  work  for  the 
pastor  than  this  one  of  considering  and 
comparing  the  results  of  pedagogical  ex- 
periment, so  as  to  be  able  to  help  his 
teachers  in  their  work? 

An  ideal  exercise  would  be  for  those 
gathered  at  a  teachers'  meeting  to  give  to 
one  another  the  results  of  experiments  that 
they  are  making  along  certain  pedagogical 
lines. 
10 


146         THE    PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

VI.    A  record  should  be  kept  of  the  results 
obtained    in    pedagogical    experiments.     Wc 

all  knov/  how  treacherous  the  memory  is.  It 
is  well  known  that  frequently  the  exception 
makes  m.ore  impression  upon  the  mind  itself 
than  does  the  rule.  The  teaching  force  of  the 
school  is  constantly  changing.  For  these 
and  other  reasons,  it  will  be  wise  for  the 
pastor,  as  he,  in  cooperation  with  his 
teachers,  proves  the  value  of  a  pedagogical 
principle,  to  make  a  record  of  that  principle. 
So  with  rules  that  may  be  deduced  from 
that  principle.  In  a  short  time  there  would 
be  gathered  a  series  of  principles  and  rviles 
the  worth  of  which  is  understood  by  the 
teacher.  These  could  be  given  to  the 
young  people  who  are  being  trained  as 
teachers  and  to  the  new  teachers  entering 
the  school,  and  by  this  simple  method 
they  could  be  kept  from  repeating  the 
blunders  'of  those  v/ho  have  gone  before 
them.  It  is  true  that  experience  is  our 
best  teacher,  but  sensible  is  that  one  who 
is  willing  to  profit  by  the  experience  of 
others. 

One  reason  why  such  excellent  work  is 
done  by  teachers  in  the  Primary  Depart- 


Till':    PASTOR    AND    I'EDA(;OGV.  I  .•  7 

ment  is  because  they  have  learned  the 
value  of  passing  from  one  to  another  the 
results  of  what  they  have  learned  in  their 
efforts  to  instruct  the  little  ones.  Let  us 
take  the  hint  from  them.  Let  us  keep  a 
record  of  those  things  in  pedagogy  which 
we  can  mark  ''tried  and  approved/'  and 
let  us  turn  this  record  over  to  each  one  in 
the  congregation  who  is  or  who  may  become 
a  teacher. 

If  there  is  in  the  mind  of  any  who  are 
being  addressed  the  slightest  suspicion  that 
all  this  is  not  biblical,  and  in  accord  with 
the  work  of  the  true  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  I  beseech  you  to  study  our  Lord's 
methods  as  he  approached  various  indi- 
viduals. He  was  indeed  the  Master.  He 
was  a  Master  in  his  knowledge  of  humanity 
for  we  are  told  he  knew  what  was  in  man. 
More  than  this  he  was  in  a  pre-eminent 
degree  a  Master  of  Pedagogy.  Although 
he  never  used  the  term,  his  teachings  give 
us  the  thing.  Although  apperception,  cor- 
relation and  concentration  were  words  that 
were  not  current  in  his  day,  he  taught 
according  to  the  principles  for  which  these 
words    stand.     Does    anyone    doubt    this? 


1  |.S  THiC    PASTOR    A.\'l)    TiCAClllCR    TRAINING. 

Let  him  study  pedagogically  the  record 
of  the  Savior's  interview  with  the  woman 
of  vSamaria  at  the  well.  Note  how  the 
Great  Teacher  applied  the  princpile  of  ap- 
perception in  talking  to  the  woman  about 
something  Vvdth  which  she  was  thoroughly 
familiar.  Consider  how  he  applied  the 
principle  of  correlation  by  m.aking  every- 
thing she  said  contributory  to  the  point 
that  he  wished  to  impress.  That  point 
was  that  he  is  the  Christ.  The  principle 
of  concentration  w^as  so  well  applied  that 
the  wom.an  is  led  apparently  without  any 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  Master  to  accept 
his  statement  concerning  the  Christ :  "I 
that  speak  unto  thee  am  he,"  and  to  go  to 
her  fellow  townsmen  and  say:  "Come,  see 
a  man,  who  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I 
did:  can  this  be  the  Christ?" 

Although  the  Bible  is  not  a  text-book 
on  either  psychology  or  pedagogy,  it  abounds 
in  illustrations  of  the  applications  of  the 
principles  of  both. 

"My  trouble,"  someone  interposes,  "is 
that  I  do  not  knovv  how  to  get  my  teachers 
started  in  this  great  work  of  learning  how 
to  teach." 


THE    PAvSTOR   AND    PEDAGOGY.  14; 

"My  difficulty  lies  farther  back  than 
tliat,''  says  another.  "I  do  not  see  with 
all  that  I  have  to  do  how  I  am  ever  going 
to  find  time  in  which  to  make  myself 
either  the  inspirer  or  the  leader  in  this 
most  important  line  of  effort." 

For  the  benefit  of  both  classes  permit 
me  to  repeat  a  story.     It  is  entitled 

Mrs.  Brown's  IvEmon-raisin  Pies 

Mrs.  Brown's  aunt  was  a  maker  of  lemon- 
raisin  pies  whose  fame  was  county  wide. 
Her  niece  asked  for  the  recipe.  She  gave 
it,  and  IMrs.  Brow^n  made  some  pies  w^hich, 
while  passable,  were  not  to  be  compared 
to  her  aunt's.  She  got  some  information 
with  the  result  that  the  next  lot  were  a 
little  better.  She  kept  on  experimenting 
and  asking  questions  and  talking  wdth  her 
friends  about  hov/  to  make  lemon-raisin 
pies  until  now  she  is  an  expert.  I  was 
going  to  ask:  Are  pies  of  more  value  than 
boys  and  girls?  but  I  will  not,  as  you  see 
the  moral. 


THK    PASTOR   AT   WORK.  151 

LECTURE  V. 

THE    PASTOR    TRAINING    HIS    TKACHKRS. 

My  friend,  a  farmer  in  Seneca  county, 
New  York,  who  is  also  the  superintendent 
of  a  Baptist  Sunday  school,  once  said  to 
me,  "It  takes  eight  years  for  me  to  pro- 
duce the  kind  of  peach  that  I  want  to  send 
to  the  Philadelphia  market,  but  in  our 
neighborhood  persons  expect  to  go  out  and 
pick  Sunday-school  teachers  from  black- 
berry bushes."  The  farmer's  meaning  is 
obvious;  producers  are  willing  to  work  pa- 
tiently for  eight  years  for  perfection  in  peach- 
es, but  Sunday-school  teachers  are  supposed 
to  spring  up  ever\^4iere  without  any  effort 
on  anybody's  part.  We  are  pleased  to  be 
able  to  report  that  since  these  words  were 
uttered  a  great  change  of  sentiment  has 
developed  concerning  the  need  of  prepar-. 
ing  for  the  work  of  teaching  in  the  Sunday 
school. 

In   most   places   the   question   to-day   is 
not:  Ought    we    to    have    trained    teachers 


1 5-!  THE   PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

for  our  Sunday  school?  but:  How  are  we 
to  have  our  teachers  trained?  In  this  lec- 
ture there  will  be  given  some  suggestions 
as  to  the  hoiv  of  teacher  training.  It  must 
be  kept  constantly  in  mind  that  there  can 
be  no  haste,  much  less  hurry,  in  this  work. 
Like  the  farmer  who  is  willing  to  wait 
eight  years  for  perfection  in  peaches,  we, 
who  are  alive  to  the  im.portance  of  ha\dng 
skilful  teachers,  must  labor  \xry  patiently, 
being  satisfied  with  smiall  results  at  first, 
in  the  hope  that  greater  ones  will  come 
in  good  time.  "In  due  season  we  shall 
reap  if  we  faint  not." 

In  addition  to  the  time  element,  which 
must  always  be  considered,  the  pastor  who 
sets  about  training  his  teachers  will  be 
obliged  to  face  and  to  overcome  many 
deeply-rooted  prejudices.  He  can  hope 
for  success  only  as  he  is  certain  of  his  ground, 
and  is  convinced  that  the  principles  for 
which  he  is  striving  are  not  only  true,  but 
will  stand  the  test  of  time  and  everyday 
use.  He  may  be  helped  in  his  wx^rk  by 
knowing  and  repeating  the  following  nar- 
ration of  facts,  which  the  lecturer  has 
frequently   employed   under  the   caption 


THE   PASTOR   AT   WORK.  1 53 

Pe:aches   and    Plums:   Boys   and   Girls. 

"There  hasn't  been  any  fruit  in  this 
neighborhood  this  year."  So  spake  my 
hostess,  when  asked  if  some  rosy-cheeked 
apples  that  graced  the  table  were  from 
her  orchard. 

The  afternoon  session  of  the  Institute 
was  concluded,  and  the  conductor  thereof 
had  gone  to  fill  his  lungs  and  clear  his 
brain  by  means  of  a  brisk  walk.  As  he 
was  hastening  along,  he  heard  some  one 
call  out:  "Mr.  Blank!  Mr.  Blank!"  Turn- 
ing in  surprise  he  beheld  a  lady  coming 
toward  him  with  outstretched  hands. 

"Won't  you  try  one  of  our  peaches?" 
she  inquired,  as  she  opened  the  extended 
hand,  disclosing  therein  two  as  delicately 
tinted  peaches  as  human  eyes  could  wish 
to   look   upon. 

"My!  Where  did  you  get  those  beau- 
ties?" 

"In  our  orchard." 

"In  your  orchard?  Where  is  it?  I 
thought  that  this  neighborhood  did  not 
produce  any  fruit  this  year.  Those  are 
as  beautiful  as  I  have  ever  seen." 


154  f^^^   PASTOR   AND  TEACHER   TRAINING. 

"Yes,  in  our  orchard.  It  is  just  beyond 
the  road.  Would  you  Hke  to  look  at  the 
fruit  on  the  trees?" 

' '  Indeed,  I  would,  if  you  have  any  more 
specimens  like  these." 

The  owner  of  the  orchard  was  called. 
He  and  two  of  his  children  responded,  and 
the  five  persons  were  soon  among  the 
peach-trees,  which  were  of  many  varieties, 
and  nearly  all  of  which  were  bending  under 
their  loads  of  luscious  fruit. 

Mr.  Wood  was  an  enthusiast.  He  had 
planted  the  trees,  and  not  only  knew  each 
one  particularly  and  intimately,  but  was 
also  familiar  with  the  pedigree  of  many  of 
them.  Lovingly  and  intelligently  did  he 
discourse  concerning  the  various  occupants 
of  his  orchard,  upon  which  he  had  expended 
much  thought  and  labor.  How  interested 
was  the  Institute  conductor  as  his  guide 
led  him  from  place  to  place,  pointing  out 
the  peculiarities  of  the  trees  and  giving 
reasons  for  the  abundance  of  fruit  or  the 
reverse!  "This  tree  needs  a  little  nitrogen. 
We  shall  have  to  put  some  phosphate  at 
the  roots  of  this  one.     This  one  will  have 


THE   PASTOR   AT  WORK.  1 55 

to  be  trimmed  a  little."  So  he  went  on, 
until  his  listener  simply  mar\'eled  at  the 
amount  of  knowledge  that  had  been  gained 
concerning  peach-trees. 

"And  still  the  wonder  grew, 
That  one  vSmall  head  could  carry  all  he  knew." 

It  was  similar  when  the  group  entered 
the  plum  orchard.  Perfection  of  shape, 
size,  color  and  taste  had  been  attained  in 
many  varieties,  and  almost  reached  in 
others.  Stupid,  indeed,  would  be  he  who 
would  ask  the  reason  for  this,  when  he  had 
an  opportunity  to  listen  to  the  enthusiastic 
plum-raiser. 

A  little  saddened,  however,  was  the  Bible- 
school  man  when  he  left  the  orchard  on 
that  bright  September  afternoon.  He  was 
thinking  of  the  boys  and  the  girls.  How 
many  of  them  are  not  producing  the  fruitage 
that  is  expected  of  them!  Wherein  lies 
the  fault?  ''In  the  boys  and  girls,"  say 
\cry  many.  But  suppose  that  the  boys 
and  girls  were  as  intelligently  studied  and 
as  laboriously  dealt  with  as  are  Mr.  Wood's 
peaches  and  plums;  would  there  be  any 
more  and  any  better  fruitage? 


156  THE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

The  time  has  not  yet  arrived,  but  the 
day  is  coming  when  a  boy  will  be  considered 
of  infinitely  more  value  than  a  peach,  and 
when  there  will  be  no  comparison  between 
the  worth  of  a  girl  and  the  worth  of  a  plum. 
When  that  day  comes  in  practice,  as  it  is 
now  here  in  theory,  will  not  Bible-school 
teachers  study  their  pupils  more  keenly  and 
intelligently  than  peaches  and  plums  are 
now  being  studied?  Will  there  not  be  a 
richer  yield  of  moral  and  spiritual  fruitage 
on  the  part  of  our  boys  and  our  girls  as 
the  result  of  this  study,  blessed  by  the 
lyord  of  the  harvest?"^' 

Do  not  for  one  instant  give  place  to  the 
thought  that  in  order  for  him  to  lead  in 
the  training  of  his  teachers,  the  pastor  must 
give  up  any  other  necessary  work.  Some 
of  you  have  been  saying  to  yourself,  Enough 
has  been  outlined  in  these  lectures  to  keep 
a  pastor  employed  without  attempting  any 
other  work.  Not  so;  the  possibility  of 
doing  what  we  have  been  considering  is 
simply  a  question  of  making  this  teacher- 
training  dove-tail  in  with  other  duties,  or, 


*The  New  Century  Teacher'^  Monthly. 


'nil-:  PASTOR  AT  \\'<);;!v.  157 

better  still,  of  making  it  a  real,  vital  part 
of  pastoral  effort.  Without  any  increased 
expenditure  of  time,  labor  or  nerve  force 
the  work  may  be  carried  on  as  follows: 

I.  From  the  pulpit.  Above  all  things  in  a 
congregation,  if  not  in  a  community, 
sentiment  in  favor  of  teacher-training  must 
be  created.  From  time  to  time  the  pastor 
has  an  opportunity  to  refer  to  it,  to  give 
some  information  concerning  it,  or  to  em- 
phasize its  importance  just  as  he  would 
treat  any  one  of  a  dozen  other  subjects 
in  his  regular  sermons.  A  brother  paster 
once  declared  that  it  took  him  five  years 
to  get  any  decided  action  on  anything  that 
his  people  considered  to  be  new.  This 
was  his  way  of  working :  He  had  in  his  own 
mind  a  very  well-outlined  plan  of  operation. 
First,  he,  as  it  were  incidentally,  referred 
to  the  matter  in  conversation  with  the 
leaders  in  his  church.  Then  his  sermons 
contained  references  to  it.  After  a  while, 
he  devoted  a  whole  sermon  to  the  subject. 
Dropping  all  references  to  it  for  a  time, 
he  afterwards  preached  on  it  in  such  a 
way  that  his  people  felt  that  they  had 
long  been  Vv-anting  this  particular  thing  and 


1 58  THE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER    TRAINING. 

were  a  little  grieved  at  not  getting  it  sooner. 
The  time  had  come  for  action,  and  that 
which  formerly  had  been  considered  an 
intrusion  was  welcomed  as  the  long-ex- 
pected improvement.  This  is  a  hint  as 
to  the  way  in  which  a  patient,  well-informed 
pastor  may  lead  his  people  to  see  the  need 
of  teacher  training. 

Perhaps  long  before  his  teachers  have 
accepted  the  thought  that  they  must  be 
trained,  the  pastor  m^ay  have  been  training 
them  from  the  pulpit.  For  example,  the 
text:  ''Never  man  spake  like  this  man" 
(John  7 :  46)  may  furnish  the  basis  of  a 
sermon  on  Jesus,  the  Master  of  Pedagogy. 
From  it  the  preacher  ma}^  be  able  to  show 
how  Jesus  employed  the  pedagogical  prin- 
ciples which  to-day  are  formulated  and 
followed  by  the  best  teachers.  He  may 
insist  on  the  truth :  If  we  are  to  imitate 
the  example  of  our  Great  Teacher,  like 
him  we  must  be  skilled  in  the  use  of  those 
methods  which  are  best  suited  to  convey 
the  truths  of  God's  Word  to  those  for  whom 
they   are   intended. 

Again,  that  interview  so  concisely  and 
strikingly   pictured   in    Matthew    18:    1-14, 


THK   PASTOR    AT    WORK.  159 

taken  with  the  words  in  Matthew  19:  14, 
where  Jesus  is  represented  as  saying:  "Suf- 
fer the  little  children  and  forbid  them  not 
to  come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,"  may  be  made  the  founda- 
tion of  a  sermon  on  Jesus,  the  Great  Paid- 
ologist.  In  this  discourse  it  may  be  shown 
that  Jesus  understood  the  needs  of  the 
child  better  than  do  some  moderns. 

When  the  members  of  the  congregation 
are  in  harmony  with  the  pastor  on  this 
subject,  he  will  find  and  will  make  many 
opportunities  for  giving  his  Bible-school 
teachers  help  which  they  will  thoroughly 
appreciate.     For  example: 

I.  Sermons  may  be  preached  in  order  to 
give  the  teacher  clearer  ideas  of  the  Bible 
as  a  whole.  The  vagueness  now  existing 
in  many  places  concerning  the  Book  may 
be  overcome  in  a  large  degree  by  the  pas- 
tor's systematic  instruction  of  his  people, 
including  his  Bible-school  teachers.  The 
eifort  put  forth  to  help  especially  his  teach- 
ers will  be  of  great  benefit  to  all  who  hear 
him.  The  fruitage  of  this  effort,  although 
slow  in  appearing,  will  be  v^ry  great  as 
the  years  roll  on. 


l6o  TIIIC    PASTOR    AND    TKACHKR    TRAIXIN(';. 

2.  Many  pastors  preach  on  books  of  the 
Bible.  It  will  be  of  increased  value  for 
them  to  consider  a  book  of  the  Bible  a 
week  or  two  before  the  teachers  come  to 
it  in  their  regular  Simday-school  work. 
By  urging  the  teachers  to  procure  note- 
books and  to  take  notes  of  the  sermon, 
the  pastor  is  giving  them  help  not  only 
for  the  present,  but  for  the  future  also. 
Book  by  book,  the  Bible  could  be  taken 
up  and  studied  according  to  some  plan 
announced  beforehand,  with  the  view  of 
presenting  to  the  teachers  some  very  clear- 
cut  facts  concerning  each  book.  Your  own 
outline  of  study  and  of  teaching  is  by  far 
the  best  for  use.  Here  is  one  that  has 
been  used  with  acceptance: 


P 


LACE  AND  TIME  OF  WRITIXG 
URPOSE  OF  WRrriNG 
LAN  OF  THE  BOOK 
RACTICAL  APPLICATIONS 


Under  "plan  of  the  book"  may  be  given 
a  very  brief  summary  of  its  contents,  which 
summary  should  be  memorized  by  those  who 
expect  to  derive  benefit  from  the  sermon. 


THE    PASTOR    AT   WORK.  l6l 

II.  In  the  teacher's  meeting.  At  once  we 
are  face  to  face  with  the  oft-recur- 
ring question:  Shall  the  pastor  lead  the 
teachers'  meeting?  The  answer  is:  The 
pastor  should  not  lead  the  teachers'  meet- 
ing, if  he  can  find  some  one  else  to  do  so. 
Perhaps  a  more  suggestive  question  is: 
What  more  profitable  labor  could  the 
pastor  perform  than  that  put  into  his 
teachers'  meeting?  If  the  business  men 
of  the  church  would  relieve  him  of  some 
of  the  executive  work,  especially  that 
which  has  to  do  with  the  raising  of  the 
money  necessary  for  the  Expenses  of  the 
church,  the  pastor  could  do  work  for  and 
in  the  teachers'  meeting  that  could  not 
be  equaled  in  any  other  place  outside 
the  pulpit. 

We  will  suppose  that  the  pastor  is  not 
the  regular  leader  of  the  teachers'  meet- 
ing, but  that  he  attends  it  a§  one  deeply 
interested  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  train- 
ing of  the  children  and  youth  of  the  con- 
gregation. Here  is  a  field  for  usefulness 
second  to  none.  Here  he  may  indeed  be 
the  inspirer,  the  adviser,  the  encourager 
of  his  teachers.     His  position  will  give  him 


l62  THE    PASTOR    AXD    TEACHER    TRAIXIXG. 

a  certain  standing  with  his  workers,  but 
his  abiHty  to  help  will  count  for  more. 
Here  are  a  few  of  the  applications  of  his 
study  which  he  may  make  in  the  teachers' 
meeting.     He  will  advise  his  teachers  to: 

1.  Consider  the  last  five  ininutes  of  the 
study  period  the  most  iinportant.  There  have 
been  teachers  who  said,  Give  me  a  good 
story  with  which  to  begin  my  teaching 
and  I  will  let  the  lesson  take  care  of  itself. 
A  good  story  is  an  excellent  help,  but  un- 
less it  is  in  harmony  with,  or  at  least  in- 
troductory to,  the  truth  to  be  emphasized 
at  the  close  of  the  lesson  study,  it  may 
do  more  harm  than  good.  The  pastor 
who  is  a  student  of  pedagogy,  knows  this 
and  will  keep  repeating  it  until  his  teachers 
also  learn  it.  By  degrees  they  will  be  led 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  Fitch's  rule: 
"Never  begin  a  lesson  without  having  in 
mind  a  definite  idea  of  how^  it  is  to  end.-' 

2.  Teach  one  truth  rather  than  7nany 
truths  in  a  given  lesson.  It  is  much  better 
to  teach  well  one  truth  on  each  of  the  fifty- 
two  Sundays  of  the  year  than  to  tr}^  to 
teach  fifty-two  truths  on  one  Sunday. 
The  fault  with  most  preachers  is  that  they 


THE    PASTOR    AT   WORK.  163 

put  SO  many  different  and  often  unrelated 
thoughts  into  their  sermons  that  their 
hearers  derive  but  little  benefit  from  their 
eloquence.  Many  of  their  Bible-school 
teachers  imitate  them  in  this  respect,  with 
the  result  that  very  little  is  really  fastened 
in  the  minds  of  the  pupils. 

3.  Remember  the  aim  of  teaching  is  to 
produce  action.  It  is  not  what  a  pupil 
feels  or  thinks  or  says  in  regard  to  a  truth, 
but  what  he  does  that  counts  for  most. 
I  am  not  putting  action  in  the  place  cyf 
faith;  I  am  contending  that  much  that  is 
labeled  faith  amounts  to  nothing,  because 
it  does  not  lead  to  action.  (James  2:  18.) 
We  hear  frequently  in  these  days  the 
phrase  "the  pKictice  of  righteousness." 
This  is  just  what  should  be  aimed  at  in 
every  lesson :  to  get  the  student  to  do  right 
as  the  result  of  the  teaching  thereof.  I 
would  that  our  pupils  could  repeat  more 
vScripture;  but  I  am  longing  for  them  to 
practice  what  they  already  know.  The 
pastor,  in  the  teachers'  meeting,  may  so 
insist  on  this  point  that  his  teachers  will 
grasp  it  and  apply  it  in  their  class  work. 

4.  Use   language   common   to   teacher  and 


164         THE    PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

taught.  This  is  one  of  Gregory's  greal  laws; 
the  one,  perhaps,  that  is  most  frequently 
violated.  The  pastor  is  in  a  position  to 
learn  of  the  mistakes  that  are  made  because 
of  the  violation  of  this  rule  and  may  set 
himself  to  insist  on  its  observance.  Of 
course  he  himself  will  observe  it,  before 
he  insists  on  his  teachers  doing  so. 

5.  Use  illustrations  on  the  plane  of  the 
learners  experience.  Many  of  the  teacher's 
finest  illustrations  produce  no  results,  be- 
cause they  do  not  fit  into  the  experience 
of  the  pupil.  The  illustration  may  be  re- 
membered w^hile  the  truth  that  it  was  in- 
tended to  make  clear  is  lost  sight  of.  The 
teacher  puts  the  blame  either  on  the  truth 
or  on  the  pupil,  whereas  it  should  be  put 
on  the  one  who  uses  the  illustration.  The 
pastor  who  knows  the  facts  may  declare 
to  his  teachers:  The  highest  spiritual  truths 
may  be  taught  to  even  young  children,  if 
they  are  expressed  in  language  w^hich  the 
pupils  understand,  and  illustrated  with 
illustrations  on  the  plane  of  their  experience. 

6.  Learn  how  to  ask  questions.  This  is  an 
art  which  was  referred  to  in  Lecture  IV. 
In   the   teachers'    meeting   the   pastor  has 


THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK  1 65 

the  Opportunity  of  not  only  giving  hints 
as  to  how  questions  may  be  asked,  but 
also  of  impressing  his  teachers  with  the 
fact  that  they  can  never  know  how  or  what 
they  are  teaching  until  they  ask  questions. 
Taking  too  much  for  granted  is  one  of  the 
grave  defects  of  all  our  preaching  and 
teaching,  A  pastor  living  near  Jersey  City, 
N.  J.,  had  this  impressed  upon  his  mind 
once  by  a  brother  clergyman  w^ho  declared 
that  a  large  number  of  the  pupils  of  the  for- 
mer's school  could  not  tell  where  Jesus  was 
born.  Preparations  were  made  for  the  test. 
To  each  pupil  in  the  main  room  was  given  a 
slip  of  paper,  a  pencil  and  a  hymn  book.  At 
a  given  signal  they  were  all  to  write  quickly 
the  answer  to  a  single  question  asked  from 
the  platform,  and  then  to  pass  the  written 
answer  to  the  class  teacher.  The  question 
was:  Where  was  Jesus  born?  The  pastor 
aftenvards  confessed  with  humiliation,  "In 
my  school  Jesus  was  born  in  every  place 
from  Jericho  to  Jersey  City."  The  result 
of  that  experiment  is  that  in  that  school 
nothing  is  taken  for  granted. 

More  than  once  have  I  been  chagrined, 
as  I  realized  how  little  impression   I  had 


1 66         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEx\CHER   TRAINING. 

made  by  what  I  considered  a  carefully  pre- 
pared and  well-delivered  talk  to  children. 
A  specimen  of  my  experience  may  be  of 
value  to  pastors. 

It  was  Easter.  My  duty  was  to  address 
the  members  of  a  Bible  school  and  their 
friends  gathered  for  an  Easter  celebration. 
My  theme  was  ''The  Meaning  of  Easter." 
My  object  was  to  show  that  if  a  person 
grasps  the  real  meaning  of  Easter,  and  lives 
according  to  it,  the  whole  life  wall  be 
transformed.  In  order  to  accomplish  my 
purpose,  because  I  was  dealing  chiefly 
with  children,  I  gave  a  number  of  illus- 
trations, vv^hich  would  present  my  sub- 
ject from  various  standpoints,  and  would 
obviate  the  necessity  for  that  didactic  style 
of  teaching  to  which  children  rarely  listen. 
Among  other  things,  I  had  summarized 
the  life  of  Paul,  showing  what  he  was  be- 
fore he  had  learned  the  story  of  Easter  and 
what  he  became  after  he  really  knew  the 
meaning  of  the  day.  I  said  to  the  Primary 
children  sitting  directly  in  front  of  me, 
*'I  am  going  to  tell  you  about  a  man  who 
learned  the  true  meaning  of  Easter  and 
whose  whole  life  was  chano:ed  because  he 


TKK   PASTOR  AT  WORK.  1 67 

lived  up  to  what  he  had  learned.  I  am 
not  going  to  tell  you  his  name.  If  you 
know  it,  tell  it  to  your  parents;  if  you  do 
not  know  his  name,  tell  your  mother  or 
father  the  story,  and  they  will  tell  you 
the  man's  name." 

Then  I  began  my  narration,  watching 
the  children  to  note  the  effect  produced. 
As  I  went  on,  one  little  fellow  nodded  so 
emphatically  that  I  felt  much  encouraged, 
and  I  said  to  myself,  ''He  knows  about 
whom  I  am  talking,  and  I  think  the  others 
do,  too."  Thus  encouraging  myself,  I 
reached  the  end  of  my  talk. 

Before  leaving  the  church,  four  persons 
told  me  the  following:  Sitting  by  the  side 
of  the  boy  who  nodded  so  vigorously  was 
a  kindergartner,  who  had  learned  not  to 
take  too  much  for  granted.  She  whispered 
to  the  boy,  "Whv  are  you  nodding,  Fred- 
die?" 

"I  know  the  man  he  is  talking  about." 

''You  do?" 

"Yes'm." 

"Who  is  it?" 

"George  Washington,"  very  confidently 
declared  the  little  fellow. 


1 68  THE   PASTOR    AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

You  may  imagine  how  small  I  felt  when 
this  story  was  repeated  to  me.  I  had  been 
congratulating  myself  that  the  children 
knew  about  whom  I  talked,  basing  my 
judgment  on  the  actions  of  the  boy.  That 
he  had  fonned  a  misconception  would 
never  have  been  discovered  had  it  not  been 
for  the  kindergartner,  whose  experience 
had  led  her  to  take  nothing  for  granted 
when  dealing  with  children. 

Of  course  the  pastor  who  does  not  know 
these  things  will  not  be  able  to  introduce 
them  into  the  talks  or  the  discussions  of 
the  teachers'  meetings,  and  in  the  ratio 
that  this  is  the  fact  will  he  be  a  less  influ- 
ential  pastor. 

III.  In  the  homes.  As  the  pastor  goes 
from  home  to  home,  he  will  meet  in  many 
of  them  his  teachers  and  also  those  who 
are  or  who  ought  to  be  preparing  to  teach, 
whom  he  may  help  very  much  by  giving 
the  word  of  encouragement  or  advice  which 
they  need  for  their  particular  difficulties. 
Any  one  with  large  experience  understands 
that  it  is  not  the  great  sermon,  but  the  work 
that  is  done  before  and  after  its  delivery, 
that  produces  results.     The  pastor  in  the 


THR   PASTOR   AT   WORK.  169 

pulpit  or  in  the  teachers'  meeting  may 
use  an  illustration  that  takes  hold  of  his 
teachers.  As  he  visits  he  may  deepen  the 
impression  made  and  show  how  it  may 
be  applied  to  concrete  cases.  If  he  does 
not  do  this,  the  effect  produced  will  soon 
wear  away.  To  bring  this  matter  more 
definitely  before  us,  let  us  suppose  that 
the  pastor  has  used  an  illustration  which 
we  will  entitle 

Why  He  Was  Good 

At  an  Institute  for  the  instruction  of 
Bible-school  workers,  the  perennial  question : 
*'How  can  we  hold  the  big  boys  in  the 
vSunday  school?"  was  being  discussed. 
The  usual  answers  were  being  given. 
Among  them  was  that  one  which  slips  off 
the  tongue  so  easily :  "We  must  love  them.'' 
A  worker  arose  and  declared  that  while 
this  was  true  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
nonsense  connected  with  the  idea  of  lov- 
ing our  pupils.  He  showed  that  young 
adolescents  are  in  no  humor  for  love  in 
the  way  we  ordinarily  use  the  term.  That 
is,  they  do  not  want  any  manifestations  of 
affection.     Bovs  or  ":irls  do  not  want  to  be 


I70         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER  TRAINING. 

told  that  one  loves  them.  They  do  not  want 
to  be  kissed  or  made  much  of.  They  are  too 
big  for  this  sort  of  thing.  A  boy  of  four- 
teen does  not  want  to  kiss  his  mother. 
In  three  or  four  years  he  will  kiss  her  and 
more  persons  than  she  wants  him  to  kiss, 
but  just  now  he  is  not  in  the  kissing  age. 
A  strong  plea  was  made  for  the  exhibition 
of  a  proper  kind  of  love  by  those  who 
have  the  handling  of  young  adolescents, 
and  not  a  namby-pamby  sentimentality. 
The  audience  either  misunderstood  or 
objected  to  the  speaker's  position.  One 
after  another  declared  that  he  was  wrong; 
that  if  his  notions  prevailed  all  the  larger 
boys  and  girls  would  be  driven  from  the 
Bible  school.  Stated,  repeated  and  reiter- 
ated was  the  affirmation:  * 'We  must  love 
our  pupils."  The  discussion  seemed  about 
to  rest  here  when  a  clergyman,  who  was 
sitting  on  the  platform,  arose  and  spoke 
something  as  follows:  "Mr.  Blank  is  cor- 
rect. I  never  sav/  the  matter  in  the  proper 
light  until  to-day.  We  are  hurting  our 
schools  by  our  talking  about  love  and  by 
the  kind  of  love  that  we  manifest."  Then 
he  went  on  to  recall  his  bovhood  davs  and 


THE   PASTOR  AT  WORK.  IJI 

the  school  he  then  attended.  He  told  of 
his  misbehavior  and  of  one  day  when  he 
seemed  especially  disorderly.  He  said, ' '  The 
teacher  told  me  to  remain  after  school. 
She  then  called  me  to  her  desk,  told  me  how'' 
much  she  loved  me  and  how  grieved  she 
was  at  my  conduct.  To  emphasize  her 
words  she  put  her  arm  'round  my  shoulder." 
The  speaker  described  his  feelings  and 
then  added,  "As  a  result,  I  behaved  my- 
self all  the  rest  of  the  term — I  was  afraid 
she  would  try  that  sort  of  a  thing  again." 

"That  sort  of  a  thing"  is  repellant  to 
the  average  adolescent.  But  is  there  no 
way  of  making  use  of  love  in  our  treat- 
ment   of    these    young    people?     There    is. 

This  is  a  good  rule  to  adopt  for  ourselves : 
Whenever  I  am  in  perplexity  conce!ming 
any  question  of  conduct  I  will  see  what 
the  Bible  has  to  say  on  the  subject.  Ac- 
cordingly we  turn  to  the  love  chapter  of 
the  Book  of  books,  and  in  the  revised  ver- 
sion read  as  follows:  "Love  suflexeth  long 
and  is  kind ;  love  envieth  not ;  love  vaunt- 
eth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up,  doth  not  be- 
have itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  its  own, 
is  not  provoked,  taketh  not  account  of  evil , 


172  THE    PASTOR    AND    TEACHER    TRAINING. 

rejoiceth  not  in  unrighteousness  but  re- 
joiceth  with  the  tmth,  beareth  [margin, 
covereth]  all  things,  belie veth  all  things, 
hopeth   all   things,  endureth  all  things/' 

Truly  we  have  here  a  description  of  the 
prime  necessities  for  the  teacher  of  ado- 
lescents. Knowledge  of  ephebics  is  a  great 
help,  but  valueless  apart  from  love.  Ped- 
agogical skill  that  will  enable  the  teacher, 
as  it  were,  to  speak  in  tongues  is  very  de- 
sirable, but  apart  from  love  it  merely  re- 
sults in  the  sound  of  brass  or  in  the  clang- 
ing of  a  cymbal.  Real  love  will  not  only 
lead  the  teacher  to  try  to  present  the  lesson 
in  the  very  best  and  most  helpful  manner, 
but  it  will  show  the  teacher  what  to  do  in 
those  exigencies  which  are  constantly  aris- 
ing in  dealing  with  adolescents. 

The  illustration  has  been  given,  the 
point  is  understood  and  appreciated,  but 
how  apply  the  principle  involved?  is  the 
question  in  the  minds  of  those  who  have 
heard  it.  Here  is  the  opportunity  for  the 
pastor.  As  he  meets  a  perplexed  or  an 
inquiring  teacher,  he  may  instruct  him  by 
personal  conversation  far  better  than  by 
formal  exhortation.     In  that  heart  to  heart 


THE    PASTOR   AT   WORK.  I  73 

interview,  when  both  pastor  and  teacher 
show  that  they  axe  deeply  interested,  the 
former  may  say  to  the  latter,  Here,  for 
example,  are  some  of  the  things  that  real 
love  will  lead  the  teacher  to  do: 

1.  To  believe  in  the  possibilities  for  good 
in  his  pupils.  Let  a  teacher  lose  faith  in 
her  pupils  and  the  results  will  be  disastrous 
not  merely  in  regard  to  the  teacher's  atti- 
tude towards  them,  but  also  vice  versa. 

2.  To  stand  up  for  the  pupils.  A  well- 
meaning  busybody  declares,  '*Mt.  Jones 
has  the  worst  lot  of  boys  I  ever  knew  of." 
This  is  repeated  to  Mr.  Jones,  who  quietly 
answers,  ''That  is  not  so.  There  are  many 
boys  a  great  deal  worse  than  mine."  Some- 
how this  comes  to  the  ea^s  of  Mr.  Jones' 
boys,  and  although  they  do  not  talk  much 
about  it,  down  in  their  hearts  they  have 
the  feeling  that  their  teacher  believes  in 
them,  and  although  they  may  not  act  as 
angels  on  next  Sunday,  still  they  have  a 
respect  for  Mr.  Jones  that  they  would  not 
have  had  had  he  spoken  against  them. 
This  respect  will  develop  into  love,  which 
will  lead  them  to  hear  and  to  heed  their 
teacher's  word. 


174  I'HEJ    PASTOR    AND    TEACHER    TRAIXIN'G. 

Some  one  with  more  tongue  than  love 
says,  ' '  I  do'not  understand  how  Miss  Adams 
has  patience  to  stand  the  frivoHty  of  her 
girls."  When  this  is  repeated  to  Miss 
Adams  she  says,  "If  you  only  knew  how 
much  good  there  is  in  my  girls,  and  how 
much  I  am  expecting  from  them,  you 
would  not  wonder  at  my  patience."  This 
good  word  spoken  in  their  behalf  reaches 
the  ears  of  the  girls,  and  they  make  up  their 
minds  that  they  will  try  to  be  worthy  of 
their  teacher's  good  will. 

3.  To  help  the  pupils.  Here  is  a  young 
girl  whose  over-confidence  in  herself  has 
led  her  to  say  or  to  do  something  that  she 
ought  not  to  have  said  or  done.  Society 
is  scandalized.  The  culprit  is  feeling  the 
weight  of  its  opprobrium.  The  girl  needs 
a  friend  and  the  teacher  proves  to  be  that 
friend  indeed.  This  gives  the  latter  a 
hold  on  the  adolescent's  affection  that  could 
never  be  gained  by  honeyed  words. 

A  boy  is  in  trouble,  as  young  adolescenls 
are  apt  to  be.  His  teacher  goes  to  him, 
helps  him  in  his  trouble,  tries  to  get  him 
out  of  it,  and  encourages  him  to  rise  superior 
to  it.     This  is  a  kind  of  love  he  understands 


THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK. 


and  appreciates,  and  that  binds  him  to 
the  teacher  who  did  something  more  than 
say,  ' '  O !  John,  you  do  not  know  how  much 
I  love  you." 

Perhaps  he  is  a  poor  boy  out  of  a  position. 
The  teacher  seeks  employment  for  him. 
Perhaps  he  is  one  struggling  against  hered- 
ity, environment,  or  some  other  obstacle. 
The  teacher  goes  to  him,  tells  him  what 
to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  That  is  love  talk- 
ing in  a  language  that  the  boy  understands. 
Only  those  who  have  been  privileged  to 
see  the  results  of  this  kind  of  love  can  ap- 
preciate how  powerful  and  how  truly  the 
great  apostle  spake  Avhen  he  declared,  ''The 
greatest  of  these  is  love." 

These  and  similar  facts  repeated  to  sev- 
eral teachers  leave  a  leaven  of  truth  con- 
cerning the  proper  kind  of  love  for  3'oung 
people  which  is  bound  to  spread,  and,  as 
it  does  so,  to  produce  results.  Other  sub- 
jects of  importance  may  be  treated  in  the 
same  way,  until  a  number  of  truths  and  a 
variety  of  methods  have  been  discussed 
with  the  teachers.  No  time  that  properly 
belongs  to  any  other  department  of  pastoral 
effort  has  been  used  for  this  purpose,  and 


176         THE   PASTOR   AND  TEACHER   TRAININ(i. 

much  time  that  otherwise  might  have  been 
frittered  away  in  small  talk,  or  in  dealing 
with  glittering  generalities  has  been  made 
to  tell  for  good  in  the  teacher's  prepara- 
tion and  indirectly  on  the  work  of  the  Bible 
school  and  the  church.  Still  more  indi- 
rectly, but  none  the  less  really,  has  the 
work  of  the  kingdom  been  advanced. 
Moreover,  the  pastor  has  secured  a  place 
in  the  affections  and  the  esteem  of  the 
teacher  whom  he  has  helped,  that  will  be 
of  priceless  value  to  him. 

IV.  From  the  Study.  In  the  great  in- 
stitutional churches  of  our  large  cities, 
there  are  offices  whence  go  forth  those 
things,  which  keep  the  work  of  the  parish 
in  the  very  best  possible  running  order. 
Every  pastor  has  not  an  office,  but  it  is 
a  very  poor  pastor  who  has  not  a  study. 
From  this  should  issue  constantly  help 
for  those  engaged  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  church  work.  We  have  to  do 
here  only  with  those  things  that  will  be 
helpful  to  the  Bible-school  teacher.  Va- 
rious methods  of  helpfulness  will  suggest 
themselves  as  we  consider  but  a  few  of 
them. 


THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK.  177 

1.  Books.  The  pastor  who  is  leading 
his  Bible-school  teachers  in  their  training 
for  more  efficient  service  will  keep  track 
of  the  books  that  wdll  be  helpful.*  Some 
of  these  he  will  purchase,  or  he  will  have 
the  church  procure  for  the  Bible  school  a 
number  selected  for  their  value  to  the 
workers  therein.  He  will  first  read  a  book; 
he  will,  on  the  back  of  its  front  cover,  write 
the  names  of  those  who  ought  to  be  most 
benefited  by  the  reading  or  the  study  of 
it;  he  will  write  a  request  that  the  one  to 
whom  the  book  is  handed  read  it,  draw  a  line 
through  his  nanie,  and  pass  it  on  to  the 
next  one  on  tke  list,  the  last  reader  to 
return  it  to  the  pastor;  he  will  send  the 
book  on  its  round  of  usefulness  by  giving 
it  to  the  person  whose  name  heads  the  list. 

In  a  short  time  another  book  will  follow, 
and  this  operation  will  be  repeated  until 
a  number  of  books  have  been  read.  They 
will  then  be  put  where  they  will  be  avail- 
able for  new  teachers  or  for  those  wishing 
especial  help  on  some  particular  subject. 

2.  Periodicals.  The  pastor  who  is  lead- 
ing his  teachers  in  their  great  work  of  being 

♦See  Appendix  2. 
12 


I7o  TIIU    PASTOR    AXl)    TKACHEk    TKAIXINC. 

trained  for  better  service,  will  take  his  de- 
nominational helps  and  also  some  other 
publications  on  Bible-school  work.  He 
will  also  be  keen  to  note  those  periodicals 
that  contain  help  along  the  various  lines 
of  teacher  training  that  we  are  discussing 
in  these  lectures.  Instead  of  piling  these 
periodicals  in  the  garret,  or  sending  them 
to  the  waste  heap,  he  will  keep  them  cir- 
culating among  his  teachers.  By  marking 
certain  articles,  and  asking  those  who  most 
need  the  benefit  of  their  contents  to  read 
them,  he  will  not  only  be  keeping  himself 
up-to-date,  but  he  will  also  be  putting  a 
vast  amount  of  information  within  the 
reach  of  those  who  will  benefit  by  it. 

3.  Clippings.  In  his  reading  he  will 
find  many  things  that  are  so  good  that  he 
will  cut  them  out  and  mail  them  to  individ- 
uals whose  needs  they  fit.  Here  is  a  young 
lady  who  ought  to  be  teaching  in  the  Bible 
school.  The  pastor  recognizes  her  plea 
that  she  is  not  fit  to  teach;  but  he  will  not 
agree  with  her  positive  statement:  **I 
cannot  get  the  training  necessary^  to  pre- 
pare me  to  teach,"  which  she  makes  in 
response  to  his  endeavor  to  get  her  to  be- 


TIIK    PASTOR    AT    WORK.  1  79 

gin  to  prepare  for  leaching.  What  is  he  to 
do?  Simply  this:  Be  on  the  lookout  for 
those  things  in  print  which  will  show  how 
foolish  is  her  position.  Send  them  to  her, 
one  at  a  time,  with  the  request  that  they 
be  read  and  returned  to  the  sender  with 
comments  as  to  their  truthfulness.  A 
specimen  of  what  might  be  sent,  clipped 
from  TJie  Ahnv  Century  Teachers'  Monihly, 
is  entitled: 

Two  Housekeepers. 

Annie  and  Mary  had  gone  to  the  same 
public  school,  they  had  attended  high  school 
together,  they  had  received  their  professional 
training  at  the  same  normal  school,  and  in 
the  course  of  time  they  were  prepared  to 
teach. 

They  made  good  teachers,  but  something 
happened,  as  it  frequently  does  to  good 
teachers.  They  migrated  into  the  blessed 
state  of  matrimony.  Then  their  paths 
began  to  diverge. 

After  the  honeymoon,  the  frequent  dec- 
larations of  Annie  were:  "I  can't  cook. 
I  can't  keep  house.  I  never  had  any  ex- 
perience in  these  things."  The  expres- 
sions: **I  can't  cook,  I  can't  keep  house," 


l8o  THE    PASTOR    AXD    TEACHKR    TKAlNINCi, 

at  first  were  very  tiresome  to  her  friends, 
who  by  degrees  stopped  coming  to  Annie's 
home.  They  had  no  need  to  be  told  that 
she  could  not  keep  house.  There  were  evi- 
dences of  it  in  all  parts  of  her  untidy 
apartments.  She  proved  that  she  could 
not  cook,  by  the  apologies  for  meals  which 
she  placed  upon  her  table. 

All  this  time  Mary  had  been  pursuing  a 
different  line  of  action.  At  first,  like  her 
schoolmate,  she  declared:  "I  can't  cook. 
I  can't  keep  house;"  but,  unlike  her  friend, 
she  added:  **I  can  learn  how."  So  she 
set  herself  to  work,  v/ith  such  good  results 
that  at  about  the  time  Annie's  friends  were 
dropping  her  out  of  pure  pity,  Mar}^'s 
friends  were  saying  to  one  another:  "What 
a  splendid  housekeeper  Mary  is!  What 
an  excellent  cook  she  has  become!"  How 
she  has  accomplished  what  she  did  is  an 
open  secret.  She  read  on  the  subject 
of  housekeeping,  especially  concerning 
those  things  which  had  to  do  with  the 
culinary  department.  She  talked  to  her 
friends  and  asked  questions  as  to  ways 
and  means,  plans  and  methods.  She  ex- 
perimented,  and  noted   the  results  of  her 


THE    I'ASTOK    AT    WORK.  l8l 

experiments.  Thus,  in  a  short  time,  the 
two  young  wives  who  stood  together  at 
the  time  of  marriage  were  very  far  apart 
in  their  positions  as  housekeepers.  They 
started  together.  They  both  said,  "I 
can't" — a  good  thing  to  say.  Why  then 
the  dilTerence  in  results?  One  said,  "I 
can  learn" — a  declaration  that  always 
ought  to  follow  "I  can't." 

Is  there  not  here  a  world  of  suggestion 
for  Bible-school  teachers?  When  brought 
face  to  face  with  some  new  method  or  plan, 
how  prone  they  are  to  say,  "I  can't!" 
Those  who  keep  on  saying  this  do  not 
need  to  repeat  it,  because  their  poor  work 
makes  it  evident.  To-day  there  are  mul- 
titudes of  teachers  in  our  Bible  schools  who 
have  little  training  for  their  work.  There 
is 'a  crying  demand  for  more  teachers,  and 
other  multitudes  of  Christians  who  ought 
to  be  doing  this  most  blessed  work  of  in- 
structing the  young  in  things  moral  and 
spiritual  say,  *'I  can't."  This  is  true,  but 
they  can  and  ought  to  say,  "I  can  learn." 

'Tarn  willing  to  learn  if  I  could,  but 
how  am  I  to  take  a  course  in  child  study, 
in    psychology,    in    pedagogy?     I    can't    go 


1 82         THE    PASTOR    AND    TEACHER   TRAINING. 

to  a  training  school.  I  must  earn  my 
living,"  are  specimens  of  the  exclamations 
frequently  heard.  All  this  is  tme,  but 
there  are  very  few  that  cannot  get  training 
for  the  work  of  the  Bible  School  as  Mary 
got  her  training  in  housekeeping.  "I  can 
learn,"  is  the  first  requisite.  Our  re- 
ligious periodicals  are  teeming  with  sug- 
gestions for  Bible-school  teachers.  The 
books  written  for  their  especial  help  are 
increasing  in  number  almost  daily.  Suc- 
cessful teachers  are  willing  to  help  others. 
Teachers'  meetings,  Bible-school  workers' 
institutes,  conferences  and  conventions  are 
bringing  the  very  best  that  the  land  aifords 
to  the  very  doors  of  our  teachers.  When 
they  begin  to  say,  ''I  will  learn  how  to 
teach,"  there  is  no  question  that  the  means 
for  their  getting  the  longed-for  training 
will  be  within  their  reach,  just  as  it  was 
ready  for  Mary  when  she  determined  to 
become  a  good  housekeeper.  Alas!  that 
there  should  be  so  many  Annies! 

4.  Eyivelopes.  The  alert  pastor  will  have 
a  number  of  large  envelopes,  each  one  of 
which  is  for  an  especial  subject  connected 
with  Bible-school  work,  such  as,  for  example : 


THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK.  183 

Adolkscencb.  Intermediate  De- 

Adult  Classes.  partment. 

Bible  Study.  Junior    Department. 

Big  Boy  Problem.     Missionary    Associa- 
Blackboard  Work.      tion. 
Child  Study.  Pedagogy. 

Christmas.  Paidology. 

Decision  Day.  Primary  Class. 

Discipline.  Psychology. 

Easter.  Rally  Day. 

Giving.  Supplemental  Work. 

Grading.  Teachers'  Meeting. 

Home  Department.  Temperance  Teach- 
ing. 

The  number  of  envelopes  will  be  increased 
from  time  to  time  until  the  pastor  has  one 
on  almost  every  phase  of  Bible-school  work. 
In  this  will  be  put  clippings  and  references 
on  that  particular  subject.  A  time  comes 
when  a  teacher  or  a  committee  wishes  defi- 
nite information  on  that  subject.  The  en- 
velope is  loaned  by  the  pastor;  its  contents 
are  overhauled ;  the  needed  help  is  obtained ; 
the  pastor  has  risen  another  niche  in  the 
estimation  of  his  teachers,  some  of  whom 
will  be  stimulated  to  follow  his  example 
in  preserving,  in  an  easily  usable-form, 
clippings  that  would  otherwise  be  destroyed, 


184      the:  pastor  and  teacher  training. 

or  at  least  be  put  where  they  would  be  un- 
available when  needed. 

5.  Scrap  Books.  Pictures,  maps,  and 
other  materials  too  large  for  envelopes 
may  be  put  into  scrap  books,  which  should 
be  loaned  to  the  persons  who  need  the  sug- 
gestions furnished  by  their  contents. 

6.  Advertisements.  A  vast  amount  of 
information,  as  wxll  as  much  valuable 
suggestion,  comes  to  the  pastor  in  the 
various  Bible-school  advertisements,  which 
are  so  freely  circulated  by  both  denomi- 
national and  non-denominational  publish- 
ing houses.  These  may  be  preserved  in 
the  appropriate  envelope  or  scrap  book, 
so  as  to  be  available  when  needed,  or  as 
soon  as  read  they  may  be  sent  by  the  pastor 
to  the  person  who  will  be  most  benefited 
by  them.  An  advertisement  of  something 
that  will  be  of  especial  help  in  the  w^ork  of 
the  Primary  class  may  be  sent  to  the 
teacher  of  that  class.  The  Junior  teacher 
wdll  receive  from  the  pastor  an  advertise- 
ment that  will  call  her  attention  to  some- 
thing which  will  make  her  w^ork  more 
effective.  So  with  the  workers  in  other 
departments. 


THE   PASTOR   AT    WORK,  1 85 

In  a  word,  the  pastor  who  has  learned 
to  make  a  servant  of  Uncle  Sam's  mailbag 
can  do  an  almost  incredible  amount  of  work 
in  training  his  teachers  without  leaving 
his  study  any  longer  than  is  necessary  to 
post  the  letters  that  contain  the  informa- 
tion which  he  desires  to  impart.  If,  in 
addition  to  the  m^ail,  the  pastor  is  able 
to  talk  to  his  teachers  on  the  telephone, 
his  possibilities  in  the  direction  of  leading 
in  teacher  training  are  immensely  increased. 

Many  pastors  are  given  to  admonishing 
their  people  as  to  the  possibilities  of  way- 
side ministries.  To  the  alert,  intelligent, 
educated  Bible-school  pastor  the  opportu- 
nities for  these  ministries  are  without  num- 
ber. A  few  have  been  indicated.  How 
many  more  there  will  be  will  depend  on 
himself.  A  little  forethought,  more  pa- 
tience, and  much  perseverance  will  enable 
one  to  work  wonders  in  one's  congregation 
in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  Bible  school. 

For  years  the  lecturer  was  pastor  and 
superintendent;  for  other  years  he  had  the 
privilege  of  studying  the  Bible  school  from 
the  standpoint  of  a  specialist;  now  he  is 
a  superintendent  without  being  a  pastor. 


l86  THE  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  TRAINING. 

His  calm  judgment  is:  The  pastor  holds 
the  key  to  the  Bible-school  situation.  To 
him  is  given  the  privilege  of  leading  his 
workers  to  the  highest  plane  of  knowledge 
and  to  the  best  methods  of  work.  Upon 
him  rests  the  responsibility  of  knowing 
what  is  needed,  and  of  inspiring  his  teachers 
in  their  endeavors  to  obtain  what  they 
need.  Young  gentlemen,  may  you  be  true 
to  the  light  that  is  given  you,  may  you  rise 
to  your  privileges,  is  the  heartfelt  prayer 
of  one  who  is  a  fellow-student  with  you 
of  these  great  problems. 

As  the  memory  of  many  mistakes  comes 
back  to  me,  I  desire  to  warn  you  against 
the  attempt  to  literally  apply  the  methods 
advocated  in  these  lectures.  Methods  must 
be  selected,  thought  about  and  adapted 
to  local  needs  and  local  conditions.  Learn- 
ing this  lesson  yourself,  you  will  be  able 
to  insist  upon  it  as  you  enter  upon  the 
leadership  of  your  teachers  in  this  most 
important  matter  of  being  trained  for 
better  service.  Insist  that  a  method  be 
fairly  tested,  and  do  not  allow  of  its  being 
condemned  if  any  mistake  has  been  made 
in  its  application;  otherv\ase  you  will  find 


THE   PASTOR   AT  WORK.  1 87 

it  most  difficult  to  introduce  other  methods, 
no  matter  how  good  or  how  needful  they 
may  be.  There  are  workers  whose  misap- 
plication of  methods  is  as  grotesque  as 
was  the  attempt  at  imitation  on  the  part  of 
the  Irishman  in  the  following  story : 

Two  tramps,  one  from  green  Erin  and 
the  other  from  the  land  of  sauer-kraut  and 
beer,  one  night,  excessively  hungry,  struck 
a  farmhouse,  the  owner  of  which  would 
give  them  a  lodging  but  no  food.  So  to 
bed  they  went,  supperless. 

About  twelve  o'clock  Hans  got  up  and 
went  softly  down  to  the  pantry.  Having 
eaten  a  hearty  meal  he  returned,  being 
compelled  to  pass  the  farmer's  bed  chamber. 
When  he  got  back  Pat  questioned  him  as 
to  how  he  passed  Cerberus. 

"An'  did  ye  not  wake  him  up?"  he 
asked. 

*'Ya,"  answered  Hans;  "but  I  yoost 
stand  shtill  und  say,    'Miaow,  miaow.'" 

"You  ought  to  be  an  Oirishman,"  said 
Pat.  "I'll  do  the  same  meself."  And, 
rising,  he  went  slowly  and  cautiously  down. 
But  he  was  not  so  successful  as  Hans.     As 


1 88         THE   PASTOR   AND   TEACHER   TRAINING. 

he  entered  the  farmer's  room  he  stumbled 
over  a  shoe,  kicked  a  chair,  and  awoke  the 
farmer,  who  cried  angrily:  "Who's  there?" 

"Oh,  lay  sthill,"  said  Pat.  "OI'M  THE 
CAT!" 

As  we  come  to  the  close  of  this  course 
of  lectures,  may  I  be  permitted  to  give  the 
place  of  emphasis  to  this  thought:  There 
are  no  patent  methods,  which  of  themselves 
will  do  the  work  of  the  Bible  school.  There 
is  no  **you-touch-the-button-and-I-will-do- 
the-rest"  way  of  doing  things  in  Christian 
work.  Principles  there  are,  methods  there 
are;  rules  may  be  deduced  from  these, 
plans  may  be  made  in  accordance  there- 
with, but  the  real  work  must  be  done  by 
human  beings  who  are  willing  to  be  channels 
through  which  the  Holy  vSpirit  may  operate. 
Therefore,  not  less  work,  but  work  more 
in  harmony  with  God  should  be  the  thought 
of  every  pastor  for  himself  and  for  his  teach- 
ers. The  conclusion  is:  Without  the  de- 
votional study  of  God's  Word,  without 
earnest  prayer,  without  the  help  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  paidology  and  pedagogy  will 
be  useless  in  the  real  work  of  the  Bible 
school. 


APPENDIX.  1 89 


APPENDIX  I. 

PROGRAM 

or 

Pastors'  Sunday  School  Institute 

Louisville,  Ky.,  December  6,  7,  8,  9,  1904 
Tuesday,  December  6,  1904— Pastors'  Day, 

The  Pastor  and  His  Sunday  School. 

9.30.  Devotional:     The  Bible  and  the  Child, 
10.00.  Pastoral     Leadership     i  n     the     Sunday 
School : 

1.  Why   Demanded,    How    Create   a   De- 
mand. 

2.  In  What  Does  It  Consist  ? 

3.  How  Can  He  Prepare  Himself  for  It  7 
11.20.  Address:     The  MavSter-piece  of  the  Mas 

ter. 

ilfternoon. 
2.15.  Scripture  Reading-  and  Prayer. 
2.30.  Agencies     for     Promoting    the    Sunday 
School : 

1.  Theological  Seminaries. 

2.  The  Pastor  and  His  Official  Board. 

3.  The     Denominational     Weeklies  —  A 
Symposium. 

4.00.  General  Discussion  of  the  Day's  Program. 


190  APPENDIX. 

Uledne$day»  December  7— Superintendents'  Day. 

The  Pastor  and  His  Superintendent. 

9.00.  Devotional  :  The  Superintendent  and 
His  Bible. 

9.30.  Co-ordinate  Duties  of  Pastor  and  Super- 
intendent : 

1.  In  Org-anizing-  and  Grading-  the  Sunday 
School. 

2.  In  Equipping-  and  Managing  the  Sun- 
day School. 

10.30.  Fool  Hill. 

11.00.  Studies  in  Human  Nature  for  Pastor  and 

Superintendent. 
11.30.  General  Discussion. 

ilfternoon. 

(I^ecture  at  Seminary  by  Dr.  McKinney.) 

Evening. 

7.30.  Song  and  Prayer. 

7.40.  A  Trip  Through  the  Holy  Land,  Illus- 
trated with  Stereopticon  Views. 

8  30.  Address  :  Some  Indications  of  Progress 
in  Sunday  School  Work. 

8.50.  Offering. 

9.00.  A  Trip  Throug:h  the  Holy  Land,  Contiu- 
ued. 

Thursday.  December  8— Teachers'  Day. 

The  Pastor  and  His  Teachers. 

9.30.  Devotional :     The  Teacher  and  Hi»  Bible. 
10.00.  Training  the  Workers  : 

1.  The  Keys  to  the  Situation. 

2.  The  Methods  to  be  Employed. 
11.30.  Christ,  the  Great  Teacher. 


APPENDIX  igr 

ilfternocn. 

2.15.  Song-  and  Prayer. 

2.30.  Class  Problems. 

3.15.  Round  Table  :     Teachers  and  Teaching 

4.00.  Address. 

Triday,  December  9~Parent$*  Day. 

The  Pastor  and  the  Parents, 

9.30.  Devotional :     The  Parents  and  the  Bible. 
10.00.  Winnings    the    Parents    to    the    Sunday 
School : 

1.  Through  the  Home  Department. 

2.  Throug-h  House  to  House  Visitation. 

3.  Through  an  Adult  Department  in  the 
Sunday  School. 

11.30,  Plans  for  the  Future. 
12.30.  Adjournment. 

Note. — For  three  successive  years  this  Institute  has 
been  held  at  the  same  time  with  the  Course  of  Lectures 
delivered  at  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary, 
The  Program  is  printed  here  in  permanent  form  to  incu- 
cate  its  scope  and  to  serve  perhaps  as  an  inspiration  to 
others. 


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